By the Light of the Moon
by hippiechick7897
Summary: Remus's sixth year finds him falling for a classmate though he convinces himself he's not worthy of any such thing. Can he keep it together when they are assigned to work together? Is friends even a possibilty? RL&FOC.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor will I ever.

This story will be ratedM for language and sexual situations. Don't say you weren't warned!

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By The Light of the Moon

Chapter 1

Remus Lupin waved good bye to his parents one last time before he raced up the stairs of the Hogwarts Express. Excitement of returning to school coursing through his veins. Because it was here that he could simply be Remus. A normal young man with normal teenage worries.

Not the young man with a dangerous problem whom people ran from when faced with him the street. Only three people at Hogwarts knew his secret and they had not abandoned him as he had feared. In fact, they had embraced it and Remus knew he was a better person for it. His friends were everything to him.

"Hey Remus!" An enthusiastic voice called out.

Remus turned and began searching the swarm of students for the familiar face.

"James!" He said as he fought his back to the end of the train where James Potter stood waiting.

"Thought you were going to miss the train, mate." James said as he thumped Remus heartily on the back.

"Mum and Dad wouldn't quit stalling." Remus replied and then lowered his voice before continuing. "They still don't think it's a good idea for me to go to school."

"Little late for that now, Moony. Sixth year. You can't back out now." James said understandingly. "Come on. We're back here in this compartment."

"Sirius and Peter here yet?" Remus asked.

"They're playing exploding snap. I told them I'd go find you." James answered.

Remus turned around to pick up the bag that had fallen off his shoulder but collided with another student causing them to drop their own trunk, on their toe.

"Ouch!" Came a soft breathy voice.

"I'm so sorry." Remus said as he pulled the trunk off the owners foot and righted himself. His gray eyes meeting the clearest blue ones he'd ever seen.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he cleared his throat.

"Nothing permanent. I'll be fine." She answered as she stooped to retrieve the trunk.

"Here, let me." Remus said quickly and hoisted it upright. "Sorry about that."

"No worries. Thanks." She said easily and took it from him.

"Do you need help to your compartment?" He offered.

"I got it. It's not that heavy. But thanks. See ya." She replied and strode off down the corridor, her long blonde hair bouncing with every step.

Remus watched her for a moment before turning back to James.

"Who was that?" He asked nonchalantly.

"She's in Ravenclaw. Something Moon, I think." James answered. "She's very pretty." He added after noticing the glint in his friends eye.

"Was she? I didn't notice. Well lets go join the game, shall we?" Remus said offhandedly.

"Uh huh." James said, deciding to let it slide and led the way into the compartment where Sirius and Peter were indeed engrossed in exploding snap.

"Hey guys." Remus said as he stored his bag overhead before sitting down to join in the game.

"Did you have a good summer Moony?" Sirius asked as he concentrated on his next move.

"The usual. Long and boring. Yours Padfoot?"

"Exciting and too short." Sirius replied.

"How about you Wormtail? Had a good summer?" Remus asked, addressing Peter.

"It was good. I went on holiday to Albania with my parents. Met a girl there...we're quite serious now." Peter said eagerly.

"Is she imaginary or blow up?" Sirius ribbed.

Peter blushed hotly and feigned concentration on the game.

"Peter mate, that's great. Where does she live at?" Remus asked supportively.

"Albania." Peter replied quickly.

"Oh, well...that's not very convenient is it?" Remus said.

"What's her name?" Sirius asked.

"Her name? It's Sheba. Sheba Ran." Peter answered nervously.

James, Remus and Sirius all shared a skeptical look over the top of Peter's head before congratulating him.

The witch with the food cart came by and broke the mocking silence as the Marauders filled their pockets with candies, cookies and cakes and bought a round of pumpkin juice.

"A toast." Sirius said jovially.

The four straightened up and held their flasks at attention as Sirius continued.

"To the best year yet. May it be filled with the most mischief Hogwarts has ever seen."

"Here, here!" The three answered.

"To the Marauders." Sirius finished.

"The Marauders!" They echoed before clinking flasks and drinking deeply.

"I'm ready for the feast! I'm so hungry I could eat a hippogriff." Remus said as he burst into the idle chatter.

He looked around the compartment contently and leaned back against the squishy seat. Unable to help feeling happy to be back at school again and among the people who accepted him, just as he was. The only place he felt he truly belonged.

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Don't forget to review. Good or constructively bad, I'm not picky. :) 


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for reviewing! I appreciate it :)

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Chapter 2

"Gryffindor's this way. Follow me please and I'll lead you to the dormitories. First years, I'm Remus Lupin, your prefect. Come along." Remus said loudly

Remus walked slightly ahead his prattling friends, extremely full from the excellent feast and more than ready for bed. He had searched in vain during the start of term announcements and the feast for the blonde haired girl from the train. He kept telling himself that he was just curious about what House she was in, if James indeed had the right person.

"Did you see those first years?" Sirius bustled. "They're so little. Reckon we were that runty when we first came to Hogwarts?"

"Absolutely not. The first years shrink every year, you know that Padfoot!" James said.

Peter gave an exaggerated laugh as he wedged himself between Sirius and James in a vie for attention.

"There are some excellent looking females this year too. Really coming into their own. Hardly even recognizable." Sirius said.

"Did you see Lily?" James asked casually.

"Evans? Yeah. Still a fool for her are you? Well, you could do worse." Sirius ribbed.

"And I suppose you think you're too good to date a fellow student." James baited.

"I don't think I'm above anyone. I'm just...selective." Sirius argued. "Some of them are just after the Black family name." He finished semi-bitterly.

They lapsed into an awkward silence for a moment before Peter broke it.

"Did I tell you guys about my girlfriend I met on holiday?"

"Yeah." Sirius and James echoed together.

"What was her name again?" James asked.

"Shelda Rane." Wormtail said.

"I thought it was Sheba Ran." Sirius challenged.

"That's what I said. Sheba Ran." Peter squeaked nervously as Remus tried not to roll his eyes.

Peter had never quite fit in with the other three guys. You could never tell if he was telling you the truth or if he was lying to impress you. He wasn't as bright or popular either. In fact, Remus had often wondered if they would even be friends if they hadn't been roommates since first year.

"You said Shel... Oh never mind. Where's Moony?" Sirius asked as turned around.

"I'm here." Remus said, snapping from his revere and noticing that he was no longer leading the pack of students but trailing behind his three friends.

"Well get up here, mate. Or are you too busy with your other friends?" Sirius said as he looked pointedly at the empty air surrounding Remus.

Remus smiled and ran to catch up with the others.

As Sirius and Peter chatted away about the latest broomsticks, James dropped back and grabbed Remus' arm to do the same.

"Are you ok?" James asked in a low voice.

"Why?" Remus asked.

"You just look like you were in awful deep thought for the first day of school, that's all. Worried about the new term?"

"No." Remus said.

"Were you thinking of that girl on the train?" James asked perceptively.

"Not at all. Just tired. It's been a long day." He answered quickly.

"Yeah, well..." James began but was interrupted by thunk on the head.

They both looked up to find Peter floating above them and quickly glanced around to find Sirius levitating him.

The students that were behind the four, which was the whole house of Gryffindor, stopped dead in their tracks to watch the show and began to applaud loudly while the first years looked on, positively enthralled.

Sirius manipulated his wand lazily as he made Peter do tricks in the air causing whoops and hollers from the crowd.

"NO MAGIC IN THE CORRIDORS!" screamed the caretaker, Apollyon Pringle. "PUT HIM DOWN THIS INSTANT."

Sirius lowered Peter slowly to the ground while staring at Pringle but leaned toward Remus.

"Password?"

"Grindylow."

"To the toast. See you there, Moony. Wormtail. Prongs." Sirius said with a mock salute before he gave his wand a casual flick.

Red, green, blue and yellow sparks began erupting from the tip of his wand and whistling it's way over the corridors and bouncing against the walls. He watched a moment as the students ducked to avoid being hit by the flying beams then Sirius took off at a run while the caretaker cursed after him.

"STOP HIM! HE'S GETTING AWAY!" Pringle yelled. "WHO WAS THAT? I WANT A NAME!"

Remus felt a little guilty for not stopping Sirius, he was after all a Gryffindor prefect but the students were enjoying the show and was a little amusing. As he listened to Pringle's screaming he knew it was time to get to the students to the common room.

"No idea Pringle. I think it was somebody from another house. If you'll excuse us we need to get to the dorms. Good evening to you." And with a wave of his wand Remus banished the spell that Sirius had left, leaving the corridor just as it had been.

"Follow me Gryffindor's. And no more showing off."

"You should have seen the look on old Pringle's face, Padfoot." Peter boasted. "Put him in his place."

"A little risky, don't you think. Pissing off Pringle's the first day?" Remus said.

"He's a wanker." Sirius said.

"True." James chimed in. "It was funny, Padfoot. Everyone was agog. I thought the first years were going to pee their pants with excitement."

Remus gave a frustrated little sigh and sank down on his bed so he could tug his shoes off.

"Moony, where are the class schedules?" Sirius asked.

"On your night stand." Remus said through a yawn.

He watched Sirius grab for it and read through the house pairings but was too tired to reach for his own.

"Well?" Remus prompted.

"We're only with Slytherin twice... Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology. Transfiguration, Charms and History of Magic is with Hufflepuff. Astronomy, Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts is with Ravenclaw.

Remus felt a small leap in his stomach at the thought of three subjects with Ravenclaw...and the blue eyed mystery girl.

"What do we have tomorrow?" Remus asked as he lay his head down on the pillow and stretched out languidly.

"Charms, Herbology and Astronomy. Charms is at 8:30."

Remus lifted his head off the pillow enough to glance at the clock on his bedside table. 1:30 in the morning. He yawned again and rolled over to tug his bed hangings closed.

"Well it's good to be back but I'm going to bed. Night guys." He said as he enclosed himself in darkness.

But sleep alluded him, all he could think about was Something Moon from possibly Ravenclaw. _What if she's Slytherin, _he asked himself as that awful thought hit him. _Don't be ridiculous. You can tell she wasn't one of them. _

He couldn't figure out why he was so preoccupied with her. They'd spent less than a minute together on the train but something about her grabbed him. It wasn't the fact that she was pretty, though she most definitely was, it was more her attitude. Most girls would have been whiny or played the damsel in distress act with the small injury, but not this one. She had been easy going and polite...and very pretty.

_Why am I even wasting my time thinking about her? A girl like her would never be interested in something like me _he thought dejectedly as he beat his pillow and willed himself into a restless sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Hey Moony. Get up. Breakfast time." Came James' voice through a thick fog.

It had taken Remus hours to fall asleep and it felt like he hadn't slept at all. He rolled over and tugged his pillow over his head as he made grumbling noises.

"Now yesterday you were all excited to be back." Sirius said as he pulled back the hangings of Remus' bed.

"That was yesterday." He answered through a yawn.

"Well you better get moving. What kind of example are you setting for the first years? A prefect, missing the first classes of term." James said purposely.

Knowing James was right, Remus sat up slowly and ran a hand through his brown hair.

"I'm up. I'm up." He said.

"Hurry and get ready. We'll meet you downstairs." Sirius said over his shoulder as he headed toward the door.

"Where's Wormtail?" Remus called.

"Already at breakfast. Come on then." James said as he followed Sirius out the door.

Remus lay back down and flung an arm over his eyes to block out the bright morning sun. _I think I'm more tired now than I was when I went to bed _he thought with exasperation. _Damn females. Which class did we have with Ravenclaw?_

Quickly he sat up and grabbed his schedule from his bedside table. _Charms with Hufflepuff at 8:30. Lunch at 11:30. Herbology with Slytherin at 12:30_. _Astronomy with Ravenclaw at 10:00. _

_It's going to be a late night, _he thought tiredly.

He glanced at his clock and started when he realized it was already 8:00.

_Shit, _Remus thought as he jumped from the bed and began pulling his robes on. He ran his fingers through his hair, grabbed his book bag and dashed downstairs to join the other Marauders.

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Aurora's breath caught as she watched the guy from the train walk across the Great Hall to the Gryffindor table. _Oh Merlin. There he is! He's so gorgeous. Look how gracefully he moves. Like a jungle cat. _

She could see him smiling as he walked and she took in his rakishly handsome appearance. His shaggy light brown hair made your fingers itch to touch it as his long legs carried him deftly across the floor. She also couldn't help but notice how much taller and more powerfully built he was the other sixth year boys.

She hadn't been able to stop thinking about him since the incident on the Hogwarts Express. He'd been very gracious with her, offering to carry her trunk had been very thoughtful and she had instantly regretted not taking him up on it. Anything to just be in his presence longer because the second she had looked into his stormy gray eyes she'd lost all the air in her lung and blood had heated.

_Gryffindor, _she thought as she pulled her schedule from her bag to find out when she'd see him again. _Not till tonight in Astronomy._

"Aurora? Are you listening to me?" Her friend Avery asked her.

Aurora snapped her attention to her staring friend and smiled apologetically. "No. Sorry. Avery? Who is that guy? Walking to the Gryffindor table." She asked as she discreetly pointed.

Avery looked to see who she was talking about and turned around grinning.

"Why?" She asked.

"No reason." Aurora replied casually. "I just bumped into him on the train, that's all. I'd never seen him before so I was wondering who he is."

"I've never talked to him. I don't know too much about him but his name is Remus Lupin. He's a Gryffindor prefect. Stellar with Defense Against the Dark Arts. The word is he likes to read and listen to music. He's the laid back and calm sort, you know. And he doesn't have a girlfriend." Avery said.

Aurora knew Avery knew everything about everybody but this just astounded her.

"How in the world did you know all that if you have never spoken to the guy?" She asked incredulously.

"I pay attention to what people say." Avery answered defensively.

"Ummhmm. We better go. We'll be late for Defense Against the Dark Arts." Aurora said as she looked at her watch.

_He's single, _she thought happily as she gathered up her book bag.

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Remus and the other Marauders walked down the common room staircase to prepare for Astronomy, since it had to be taken at night they had had a few hours off before having to make their way to the tower but they had used the time to begin working on their homework that had already been assigned, much to the students complaints.

Charms had went well. Everyone liked Professor Flitwick, a young professor who was excellent with his students and of course Gryffindor had never had problems with Hufflepuff.

Now Herbology on the other hand had been a different story. The first problem had been Slytherin. They were a bunch of self righteous gits. And those self righteous gits were the reason they had so much homework.

The Slytherins had chopped up some of the aconite and were throwing it around the room. Professor Dittany had been furious and assigned the whole class a three parchment essay on the properties and dangers of aconite.

Now they were off to their third and final lesson with Ravenclaw. Remus couldn't deny he was feeling anxious. He had looked for the mystery blonde girl all day but hadn't seen her yet. It looked like James was right about her being in Ravenclaw.

The four climbed the stairs and emerged on the landing of the tower finding Professor Sinistra waiting at the top to greet them. She was another young teacher who was also immensely likeable.

"Good morning boys." She smiled happily. "Welcome back. You'll find the tables inside labeled with your names. Please sit in the corresponding place."

They mumbled their hellos and thanks as they walked in the door. They searched the tables quickly and found their seats.

Remus sat and gazed casually around the room until the last bell rang. The door closed and he shifted his gaze to it. The air whooshed out of his lungs as his eyes fell on the girl from the train. And she was walking to the only available seat left in the room, which was right across from him.

She smiled at the person next to her as she sat down but then quickly focused her attention on the teacher.

_See, she doesn't even remember you, _he chided himself for being a fool.

"Welcome to Astronomy six. I would like you to look across the table to the person sitting opposite to you." Professor Sinistra said.

Remus shyly looked at the blonde haired girl as she turned her beaming smile to him.

"I would like you to meet your new Astronomy partner. Please take a moment to introduce yourselves as you're going to be working closely for the year." She continued.

Remus felt the bottom drop out of his stomach and his mouth drop open slightly and couldn't help but notice the change in her expression as well.

_She's horrified. Just great Moony. Perfect. _

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	4. Chapter 4

Thank you all for your reviews! They are much appreciated. Keep them coming :)

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Chapter 4

Aurora smiled happily at the man sitting across from her but her smile slipped a bit when she noticed the almost horrified expression on his face. He was gaping for Merlin's sake.

"Hi." He finally said in a deep timber.

"Hello." She answered self consciously as the students chattered away.

"I'm Remus Lupin."

"Aurora Moon."

"Looks like we're going to be partners." He said unnecessarily.

"Looks that way." She said, her smile back.

Remus couldn't help staring at her white even teeth as she grinned like she knew a secret. He decided her smile could light up a room brighter than five Patronuses.

Remus cleared his throat and said "I haven't seen you before."

"You saw me on the train." She said with slight disappointment. _He doesn't even remember me, _she thought.

_She does remember me, _he told himself, inexplicably happy.

"I know you from the train. Before that I mean. I've never seen you in any of my other classes. Are you new?" He clarified.

"No. I..." Aurora began but was interrupted.

"Have you all met your new study partners?" Professor Sinistra asked and was met with nods from the students.

"Excellent. Between you you'll find the location of where you are to study the planetary alignment and star positions. Please take a moment to find out where you'll be."

Remus reached for the parchment that had appeared between them and read aloud "The lake."

Aurora had to bite back another smile. _Studying the stars , by the moonlit lake, with one of the most handsome guys I've ever seen? I think I can handle that, _she thought slyly.

"Oh." Was all she said.

"Now, for your assignment." Professor Sinistra interjected. "You'll be charting the night sky on every evening but Friday. I want the position of the planets and stars and a chart showing each nights movements. I will be wandering the grounds checking on you in case you have questions. You will be separated from your classmates so your charts will be different. "

"Any questions?" She asked. "You may take your telescopes and begin."

Remus stood quickly and sought out his friends. It appeared Professor Sinistra had tried to integrate the Ravenclaws with the Gryffindors.

Peter was paired with a short mousy haired girl who was complaining about how heavy the telescope was.

Sirius was partnered with an exotic looking girl with black hair and almond shaped eyes who was blatantly checking out his ass as he walked, levitating the telescope in front of him.

"See you Avery." Aurora said as the girl walked by with a wicked glint in her eye. "Behave yourself."

"You too." Avery said as she waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Then finally James traipsed by giving Remus a knowing smile as he talked to his study partner. He had the only male partner out of the four and Remus had seen and spoke to him on several occasions but didn't know his name. He gave him a courtesy nod as he passed carrying their telescope.

"See you in the common room." Remus said to James.

When it was just him and Aurora left in the room he turned around and found her watching him with an odd look in her eyes.

"Er..shall we?" He asked.

"I'm ready whenever you are." She replied as she watched him pick up the telescope.

They walked down the many flights of stairs from the Astronomy tower to the grounds in complete silence. Neither knowing what to say and the silence becoming more tense with each step they took.

"Can I help you with that?" Aurora asked in desperation.

"No. I got it. Thanks." Remus answered.

The silence was deafening and he could feel her watching him as he led the way to the lake. He was never really good at small talk but cast around for something to talk about.

"Your name is an oxymoron." He said suddenly.

"Pardon?" She asked.

_What the hell was that Moony? Is that the best you could come up with, _he raged at himself.

"Your name is contradictory. Aurora means dawn, which indicates morning. And Moon, which indicates night." He said lamely as he stopped walking.

"Erm...yes. Thank you for noticing. No one catches that." She replied as she stopped as well and looked into his shadowed eyes, mesmerized.

"You're welcome." He said as he stared hypnotically and relaxed marginally. "So how come I've never seen you?"

"I'm not sure. I've been here all six years but I haven't seen you before yesterday either. I don't think." She said softly as the air around them crackled.

"I'd remember seeing you." He answered thoughtlessly. _Like anyone could forget someone as beautiful as she is. _

"Why do you say that?" She wondered.

"Oh, I have an excellent memory for faces." He explained quickly.

"Me too. We better get to the lake in case Sinistra comes to check on us." She said as she resumed the trek.

Remus followed, watching her hips sway gently as she walked ahead of him and felt his throat go dry.

"So you're a prefect." She said casually, it was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes. How did you..."

"Your badge is on your robes." She replied as she turned and pointed to his chest.

"I forgot." He answered stupidly. Normally he was quick on the uptake, relaxed and easy to talk to but with her he felt dumb, uptight and clumsy.

_He's absolutely adorable. _Aurora stopped underneath her favorite tree when they reached the lake.

"How's right here?" She asked.

"Works for me." He replied as he set up the telescope.

When he got it steadied he had no choice but to look at her and immediately felt the air whoosh out of his lungs.

She looked even lovelier by moonlight. Her blonde hair seemed to glow and her clear blue eyes were reflecting the moon.

"Are you ok Remus?" She asked with concern.

"Yes. Of course. Just lost my breath for a moment. Telescope was heavy." He said as he busied himself looking at the stars.

"It's a brilliant night for stargazing. Not a cloud in the sky." She commented as she moved to stand behind him.

He nervously shifted away so he could see her and found her watching him intently. The breeze blew her hair gently and carried her soft scent to his nostrils.

"What?" He asked worriedly.

"I make you nervous don't I." She said astutely as she took a step toward him.

"Don't be ridiculous." He replied as he took a step backward.

"It's ok if I make you nervous, you know." She continued as if she hadn't heard him.

"You don't. But why is that?" He inquired curiously and watched as she took another step toward him.

"Because you make me nervous too." Aurora said boldly.

This time he crossed his arms over his chest and stood his ground as he allowed her to take another couple steps toward him. She was so close he could hear her shallow breathing and smell her perfume. He swallowed hard as she began to lean toward him. She placed a hand on his forearm and felt a jolt shoot through his body.

"Why..." He squeaked, then cleared his throat and tried again. "Why should I make you nervous."

"Remus?" She asked. He could feel her hot breath on his lips and his eyes drifted shut for a moment. _What is she doing, _he wondered.

"Hmmm?" He managed.

"Don't you know why?" Aurora replied.

Distantly Remus heard footsteps on the grass and snapped back into his right mind.

"Somebody is coming." He said as he stepped back and made his way back over to the telescope to study a constellation.

"How do you know?" She asked feeling bereft.

"I hear them walking." He replied. His werewolf ears were very sensitive to noise.

Aurora strained to hear anything but came up with silence.

"I don't hear footsteps." She said matter-of-factly.

"Get over here and look busy. I'm telling you Sinistra is coming." He said positively. Not only hearing the teacher but catching her scent as well.

Aurora looked at him as if he were crazy but did as she was instructed nonetheless. She pulled a piece of parchment from her bag and made herself comfortable in the soft grass.

"_Lumos." _She said and planted her lit wand in the dirt as she began drawing up a star chart as Remus named off what he saw.

Sure enough about three minutes later the professor showed up to check on their progress.

"How's it going?" She asked them.

"Well." Remus lied.

"It's a perfect night for this." Aurora answered.

"That it is Miss Moon. That it is. Did either of you have any questions about the assignment?"

"I don't." Aurora answered.

"How long is this assignment going to last?" Remus asked.

"This is a year long project Mr. Lupin. Anything else?"

They were both silent at this news.

"Well, I'll leave you to it then."

_A whole year with Remus as my study partner, _Aurora thought with excitement.

_I can't like her. There are far too many complications. I'm better off alone. I don't know if I can take a year of this, _Remus thought with confusion, still wondering about what the hell she thought she had been trying to do before Sinistra had came.

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	5. Chapter 5

As always, thank you for reading hippiechick! ;)

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Chapter 5 

"Remus? It's late. We can stop now, don't you think?" Aurora asked two hour later.

He glanced at his watch and saw it was well after 1 in the morning.

"Merlin, where did the time go? We better stop now. Get some sleep for the mornings classes." He agreed.

"Yeah. It's going to be a short night." She said.

"We have Defense Against the Dark Arts together tomorrow right?" He asked.

"Mmmhmm. Last class of the day again." She answered.

"Well, I'll see you then."

"See you." She said in her soft voice. She remained sitting on the ground staring at the lake.

"Can I walk you to your common room?" He asked politely.

"Thank you. But I think I'm going to stay out here for a few more minutes."

"Oh. Ok then. Good night." He said.

"Good night Remus." She replied and stared upward again.

Remus walked away back toward the castle feeling confused. He didn't want to like her but found he couldn't help himself. She was smart, sweet and had an intensity about her that he found captivating.

He could hear her humming mellifluously and turned around so his sharpened eyes could seek her in the dark. She had shed her robes and had drawn her knees up to her chest to rest her chin atop them as she rocked slowly to the music.

Remus felt an unknown tugging in his chest as he watched her for a few minutes, completely entranced. Then his feet, by their own accord, began walking back to her.

Aurora heard the footsteps and turned around to find Remus making his way back toward her. When he stopped a few feet beside her she stared up at him, puzzled.

"Feel like some company?" He asked quietly.

She nodded to the empty patch of grass beside her and continued rocking.

"Soo..." He said nervously. Now that he was here he didn't know what to say. "Do you enjoy Hogwarts Aurora?"

"Very much so. You?"

"Absolutely. It's my home." He answered. "It's kind of chilly out here. Are you alright?"

"Perfect. I just can't get over what a lovely night it is." She said dreamily.

"I guess." He said as he looked up to find what she was gazing at.

"Do you ever just look at the stars Remus?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you ever just look without being assigned to look?"

Remus considered the night time one of his worst enemies and wasn't really sure what she was getting at. Did he ever gaze? Maybe long ago.

"Not really." He answered honestly.

"The night tells a story you know." She said as she lay down on her back and propped her head up on her hands.

He followed suit and began gazing at the stars with her. "What kind of story?"

"All kinds of stories. Tales of sailors, wars, disaster, cheating lovers, vanity." She replied quietly as she turned her head to meet his eyes. "And love."

"From stars?" He said skeptically.

"Yes. Just from stars."

"Will you tell me?" He asked.

"If you look you can find them on your own." She said mistily.

They fell silent again. Each lost in their own thoughts until Remus was unable to hold the question that was ready to burst from his lips.

"Were you about to kiss me?" He demanded.

Aurora turned to him with surprise showing on her face before answering.

"I was."

"Why?" He asked.

"I don't know. It just felt right at the time." She explained.

Remus felt a happiness rush through his veins at those words but quickly tamped it down.

"Well you can't just go around kissing people Aurora. Especially me." He said sternly.

"Especially you?" She inquired.

"No. I'm not interested. In anyone. I haven't the time nor inclination to get involved with you." He said with false confidence.

Aurora felt the words pricking her and struggled not to let it show. He wasn't obligated to be interested in her. This was obviously a one sided attraction. But he was still her study partner so she'd have to deal with him for the rest of the year. Might as well make it tolerable.

Remus watched her get up and felt as if he had insulted her, making him feel guilty. "I've upset you." He stated at the flash of hurt in her eyes. "Listen, it's not because I don't think you're pretty or nice. You are. But my life is full of complications. There's just not room for more."

"You haven't upset me and I do see. That's fine. Because I'm not interested in you either Remus. Not like that. I was carried away by the night. Moonlight does funny things to people, you'll find out." She said as she pulled herself off the ground. "And being as we're going to be study partners all year, I think it's best if we don't get involved anyway. Although could we be friends?"

Now it was Remus' turn to be surprised. That was easier than he expected.

"I'd like that." He answered as he stood.

"Good." She replied as she held out her hand.

Remus looked at her momentarily before shaking it but the instant he touched her he felt the electric shock running through his veins, though he did his best to remain unruffled.

"Well...erm...it's very late Aurora. We've been out here for over an hour. Let me at least walk you up to the castle." He said as he looked at his watch.

"I suppose you're right." She said as she bent to pick up her robes, wand and book bag.

Remus couldn't help noticing how nicely her butt filled out her jeans but quickly chided himself. _Friends do not check out each others ass in the moonlight, _he told himself.

"So are you a half blood?" He asked as they began to walk.

"Yes. You?" She asked.

"Me too. How old are you Aurora?"

"Sixteen. How about you?"

"The same. When is your birthday?" He quizzed.

"November 2nd. When's yours?" She asked.

"March 10th. I'm older than you." He teased.

"Barely. So what do you like to do Remus?" She inquired curiously.

"I like to read and I play chess."

"Ahh, a smartie eh?" She teased.

"I guess you could say that. How about you?" He asked interestedly.

"I like to read too. I like to talk...obviously. And I like being outside."

"A sporty girl. I see. Do you like Quidditch?"

"Love it! Do you?" She asked.

"Ahh, a girl after my own heart." He said thoughtlessly and immediately snapped his mouth shut.

Aurora didn't answer him as she decided it was best to ignore his little flub. So they walked the rest of the way in awkward silence. They entered the castle and stopped at the Great Hall.

"What time should we get together tomorrow?" Aurora asked.

"Pardon?" Remus replied, bewildered.

"For Astronomy. It's not on our schedule for tomorrow so we're going to have to make our own time." She said looking at him oddly. "What did you think I meant?"

"Oh." He said choosing to ignore her last question. "How about 10:30."

"Fine. Good night Remus." She said.

"Good night Aurora." He said as she turned and sauntered off in the opposite direction of the Gryffindor common room.

* * *

"Where the hell have you been mate?" James demanded when Remus finally crawled through the portrait hole and into the common room. 

James, Sirius and Peter were all sitting there waiting on him. Well Peter it appeared had dozed off in front of the fire but the other two were watching him expectantly.

"We lost track of time." Remus said simply. "Why? What time did you guys get back?"

"I've been back for two hours. Padfoot on the other hand..." James began but was cutoff by Sirius.

"I just got back about thirty minutes ago. I was working on...some extra credit, if you know what I mean." Sirius said slyly.

"You didn't!" Remus exclaimed.

"What? Like your any better? You expect us to believe that you were out studying until 2:30? With that gorgeous slice of heaven. Come on Moony!"

Remus felt something akin to jealousy clutch his stomach but tried to ignore it. Why should he care if Sirius, a renowned ladies man, noticed if Aurora was hot or not?

"We studied until about 1. And then we talked until about 2, ok. Nothing happened. It took thirty minutes to get back from the lake to here."

"Talked? If that's what you want to call it." Sirius heckled.

"I'm calling it talking because that's what it was!" Remus replied with frustration.

"Anyway. I'm tired. I'm going to bed. See you in the morning." Sirius said standing, apparently done with the conversation.

"Take Wormtail with you." James urged.

Sirius levitated Peter in front of him and guided him up the stairs leaving Remus alone with James.

"What was your partners name? I know I've talked to him before but I didn't know his name." Remus said trying to change subjects.

"Donaghan Trimble." James said. "What was your's name?"

"Aurora Moon."

"That's right! Aurora. I knew I knew her name. So, how did it go?" James asked.

Remus stared at him and decided how much he wanted to share.

"She was going to kiss me." Remus said.

"Going to? What happened?" James asked interestedly.

"Sinistra came."

"Damn teachers and their timing. Then what happened."

"Long version or short version?" Remus asked.

"Lets go short for now. It is really late Moony." James said.

"Yeah, I know. Ok, first she almost kisses me when we get to the lake, then Sinistra comes, we study for about two and half hours. I leave and she stays at the lake. I go back to see if she wants company. We look at the stars. I tell her I'm not interested a girlfriend, she blames the almost kiss on the moonlight and asks if we can be friends. Then we go up to the castle and go our separate ways." Remus explained.

"You told her you weren't interested in her?" James asked incredulously.

"I was just being honest Prongs. I'm not interested her." Remus said.

"That's bullshit and you know it Moony. You've been thinking about her since you met her." James accused.

"So what if I have? It's not like I can do anything about it! Once she found out what I am she'd take off faster than a Cleansweep 4. People like me don't deserve people like her." Remus defended.

"When are you going to start _not_ thinking the worst of people? Or yourself for that matter. If you believe that then maybe you're right. You don't deserve someone like her. Or maybe you do and you're just to afraid to find out." James said cryptically as he rose.

"Good night mate." He said before disappearing upstairs leaving Remus alone to work out his friends harsh but true and well meaning words.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you all for reviewing! They made my morning!

* * *

Aurora spent a long night tossing and turning, not really sleeping yet not really awake either. She couldn't deny she was bothered by Remus' oh so tactful refusal but life didn't ever work out to plan. Still, she couldn't help but wonder why he thought his life was so complicated.

She stretched and looked over at her bedside table to find out what time it was. _Damn. Only 5:00, _she thought. _I've only been in bed for two hours? It feels like an eternity. _

Deciding she was definitely not going to get any sleep she quietly got dressed, grabbed her toiletries, went down to the empty common room and climbed through the wizard statue that marked Ravenclaws tower entrance.

She walked noiselessly to the fifth floor where the prefects bathroom was. Avery was one of Ravenclaws prefects and had given her the password with the condition she either use it very late at night or very early in the morning. _Can't get much earlier than this, _she thought as she stopped at the fourth door on the left of Boris the Bewildered.

She pressed her ear against the door to make sure it was empty. "Fire crab." She said and the door swung open.

Aurora couldn't help but sigh when she entered. It was absolutely luxurious. Everywhere you looked there was gorgeous white marble. The floor, the sink, and the tub. The tub was the best. It was huge, like a small swimming pool, and had hundreds of taps for bubble baths. The hardest thing you had to do was pick your scent. And of course, her second favorite was the picture of the mermaid on the wall, swimming lazily back and forth.

She turned on the golden faucet and the tub began quickly filling with water. "Lilac." She commanded and fragrant bubbles began streaming out as well.

She began pinning her hair up so that only a few wispy curls were left then reached for a fluffy towel before discarding her clothes and sinking into the perfect bath.

That was her other favorite feature of the tub. Just perfect water every time for the entire time you were in the tub.

She leaned back, covered her eyes with a warm wash rag and inhaled the sweet floral aroma as she tried to distract herself from the one thing, or person she should say, that had her in knots.

Aurora couldn't explain why she felt so incredibly attracted to Remus. Sure he was hot but good looks alone were not enough to build a relationship on. _He's laid back, witty, smart, shy but in an adorable way and surprisingly easy to talk to. _

From the moment she'd gazed into his fathomless gray eyes on the train to the second she'd touched his arm last night she had felt an inexplicable connection. But he obviously has 'too many complications' in his life for romance and wasn't interested. She should be thankful he was so up front about it but she warranted her way out of it.

_If he isn't interested then why do you make him nervous, _she asked. _Maybe he's always like that. You don't know him extremely well, _she tried to reason but even to her own mind it sounded ridiculous. Why did he looked so relaxed at other times?

She was thinking herself in pointless circles. They were friends and that's all they would ever be. She'd just have to focus her attentions on someone else. His tall dark headed friend that had been paired up with Avery was pretty good looking.

_Now you're just being vindictive, _she chided herself. _You have no interest in whatever his name is. So not my type. _

She'd been in the bath so long she had started to pucker so she climbed out and wrapped a towel around her. She was bent over the tub letting the water out and didn't hear the door open.

Remus stared at the towel riding higher and higher on the prefects thighs as she struggled to find the plug in the deep tub. He bit the side of his cheek as he held in an appreciative whistle. Moments like this almost made him forget his self inflicted boycott of dating.

He cleared his throat politely and said "I beg your pardon. I had no idea anyone would be in here this early."

Aurora whipped around and gasped in surprise at the voice coming from the doorway. Her quick movement cause the towel to slip lower on her breasts.

"Remus! You frightened me." She said as she tugged the towel protectively up.

"Aurora? What the bloody hell are you doing in here?" He said angrily.

She looked taken aback at his tone and answered with the same bite.

"Taking a bath. What the hell does it look like?"

"You're not a prefect." He said plaintively.

"No but my friend is." She said as if that explained everything.

"But you're not." He insisted.

"I wasn't hurting anybody."

"This facility is for prefects only. Students have their own." He argued.

"Oh don't sound so self righteous. You're a student too you know. If I knew anyone was going to be in here I would have used the lowly student showers." She shot back, still unclear on why he was angry.

Last night they had seemed to have parted as friends but now he was talking to her like the enemy. It hurt and she didn't like it.

"I never said the students are lowly. Quit putting words in my mouth dammit." He said.

"Just telling it like it is."

"Whatever. You have no right to be in here. And for Merlin's sake will you put some damn clothes on?" He asked, feeling quite unnerved in her state of undress.

Her blonde curls were piled on top of her head with a few escaping the pins and clinging to her neck, her cheeks were pink from the heat of the water, her blue eyes danced with indignant anger and she smelled of sweet flowers. _Damn her._

"With pleasure." She raged as she pulled her robes on over the towel.

"Thank you." He answered feeling a little relieved. Until she pulled the towel off and he had to live with the knowledge that she was naked underneath her robes. Then he wanted to groan.

"Why are you acting like such an asshole?" She demanded.

That was like a slap in the face and he finally realized his harsh tone. He immediately felt sorry for talking to her like that. He was already in a bad mood, he hadn't slept all night because he couldn't stop thinking about her and seeing her in one of the only places he thought he could get away from her had set him off.

He was more angry at himself for letting her affect him than he was at her, yet here he was taking it out on her. He felt thoroughly chastised as she stalked over to the door.

"Aurora, wait. I'm..." He began.

"Save it for someone who cares!" She said vehemenently as she launched her towel at his head and walked out the door.

Remus stood there feeling like the biggest dick in the world as he held her wet towel and tried to ignore her delectable scent that was still wafting up from it.

_Absolutely inexcusable Lupin. Was she really hurting anything, _he reprimanded. _You're just mad because you're losing the battle. _

_Well tonight is certainly going to suck. _

* * *

Don't hate me :( 

Everyone is entitled to a little tantrum now and then. And we all know what a sweetie Remus can be...


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for reviewing! They are much appreciated :)

* * *

Chapter 7

Remus spent the next week suffering Aurora's cold shoulder. Ironically,Professor Lachlan decided to pair up the students alphabetically in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Leaving Remus paired with Aurora again. She'd refused to speak to him about anything but the assignment and stalked off the moment the bell rang, never giving him the opportunity to apologize to her.

When they met at 10:00 each night to work on their Astronomy assignment she had apparently put some of kind of Silencing charm on him or she was really good at ignoring him. She never would acknowledge him speaking to her. She just went straight to work with the chart while he just stood there. Then at exactly midnight she would leave without a look at him.

He didn't blame her. He had behaved like an ass but man could she hold a grudge. He didn't know how he was ever going to apologize if she wouldn't give him a chance.

When Friday rolled around he felt relief that he wouldn't have to see Aurora for three days. But that also meant he had a lot of free time to think about James' words of advice from the first night back. The words had always been there but he had enough other things going on that was able to push it to the back of his mind.

Now though, he had nothing but time as he leaned against the tree and stared out at the lake on Sunday afternoon. Was James right? Was he too afraid to find out if anyone could love him? He dropped his forgotten book and searched for answers as he watched the giant squid swim lazily back and forth.

He knew right off the bat when he met Aurora for the first time she was something refreshingly different the norm. She was bright, independent and sweet...when she wasn't pissed off at you anyway. And they did have a lot in common.

Remus, if not out loud, could at least admit to himself that he found her to be very attractive. Not just physically but mentally. But the complications always got to him.

No one should be expected to love a beast. And it was just easier for him to not let himself feel for anyone and get emotionally involved, for his own protection.

_So James is right, you are just scared. But why put yourself out there to get hurt like that? When it's certain to come back and bite you in the ass. _

_But what if it doesn't? What if it worked out,_ he asked himself.

Through his busy thoughts, Remus heard Sirius' laugh carrying across the grounds and turned to find him. When he located him he felt jealousy rip through him and he clenched his fist to calm himself.

Sirius was walking with Avery on one side and Aurora on his other. He had his hand lightly resting on their hips as he guided them across the grass. The worst thing about it was how much Aurora seemed to be enjoying herself. She was laughing with abandon and smiling as she listened to Sirius tell a story.

_If I'm not emotionally involved then why am I jealous, _he asked himself angrily as he pulled himself up off the ground.

"Sirius?" He called.

Sirius quit walking and turned in his direction with a casual wave but continued to lead the two girls away. Remus couldn't help but notice how drastically Aurora's expression changed when their eyes met. She abruptly went to ignoring him and left him sitting with his jealousy.

_Sirius is dating Avery now. What the hell does he need with Aurora too? _

_The real question should be why do you even care, _he taunted.

* * *

When Monday rolled around and he was still getting the silent treatment Remus began to get agitated. Professor Sinistra had even taken him aside after class to tell him he had a Dreadful in her class for his lack of cooperation to work with his partner.

"I've watched you for a week and not once have I see you helping her. You need to value teamwork, Mr. Lupin. I must say, I'm very disappointed in you. I expect better from a prefect." She had said, leaving him gaping after her at a complete loss for words.

So now as he and Aurora stood in the darkness, he was formulating a plan. It was almost midnight and she would be due to stalk away any moment. And right on cue she began to gather up her book bag.

He pulled off his cloak, kicked off his shoes and discarded his socks before cannon-balling into the lake.

Aurora heard the huge splash and whipped around to see a head bobbing up in down in the lake.

_Doesn't this moron know it's not safe to swim in that lake, _she asked as she dropped her book bag and ran back to the edge of the water.

When she got closer she realized that the moron was her study partner.

"Remus? What the hell are you doing in there?" She demanded.

"Getting you to talk to me." He said as he floated gently.

"Get out of there. The giant squid could come." She answered.

"Not till you hear me out."

"No."

"Then I'm staying in here. You don't want the giant squid to eat me do you." He coaxed.

"If I listen to you are you going to get out?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Fine."

"Thank you. I have been trying to tell you for a week how sorry I am that I yelled at you. It was wrong and I shouldn't have done it. I lost control of my temper. That doesn't happen very often to me." He said sincerely.

Aurora felt her anger melt away with his genuine words and said "I appreciate your apology."

"Friends?" He asked as he held a dripping hand out to her.

"Friends." She said as she accepted it, trying not to notice how his white t-shirt was clinging to his leanly muscled chest.

He grasped her hand and stroked his thumb over the inside of her wrist causing her a slight shiver. He looked at her intently as the air began to buzz. Until he yanked her into the lake too.

Aurora went under in surprise and came up sputtering with indignation.

She tried her best to look mad but couldn't hide her smile. She splashed him in the face and said "That was so mean."

"I thought it was funny."

"A little." She admitted.

Remus watched in mute fascination as water droplets slid down her cheeks.

"We better get out before the squid does come." He said as grabbed her hand and tried leading her out of the lake but slid on a muddy patch and went down again, dragging her with him.

They both came up breathlessly laughing until they were just staring at each other hungrily.

Aurora was the first to snap out of it and made her way gingerly around him to lead the way to the grass but he caught her arm and turned her around gently leaving her to stare at him in confusion.

"Aurora?" He whispered.

"Yes?" She asked just as quietly.

She watched as he leaned toward her, watching her eyes and giving her time to reject or accept him. But when her eyes drifted shut and she gave a soft sigh he took that as acceptance.

Remus took her lips tenderly in a small kiss. When he broke away to look at her she gazed back dreamily.

"Again?" She asked.

He tugged her the remaining feet to the grass before wrapping his arms around her kissing her again, more urgently this time. He felt her hands slide up his back and tangle in the hair at the base of his neck as she snuggled closer.

But even the warmth of his body couldn't keep her from shivering and he pulled back.

"You're freezing. I shouldn't have pulled you in." He said as he bent to pick up his dry cloak from the ground and wrap it around her.

She smiled at him gratefully and stared at her mesmerized for a moment.

"Come on. Let me walk you up to the castle." He said as he grabbed her hand and led her to where her book bag lay.

_Well Moony. I think you've just a made a break through. But for the better or worse is yet to be seen. _

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

* * *

Chapter 8

The next day Remus sat nervously in Defense Against the Dark Arts awaiting Aurora's arrival. He still couldn't believe he'd kissed her. And more amazing was the fact that he didn't regret it. Though he felt the odds were stacked against him. Even if he had regretted it, one look at her glowing face would have knocked back into his senses.

But that was yesterday and this was today. And now he was filled with doubts. _What if she doesn't like me? She told you she had no interest in you. What if she regrets kissing me? Just because I enjoyed it doesn't mean she did._

He tried to tell himself if shouldn't matter but he knew that was a lie. Something changed last night whether he liked it or not, because with that one little kiss he knew she was it. He should have known it from the moment he bumped into her on the train but he was stubborn.

Now he was filled with new doubts though. How would she react if he decided to tell her he was a werewolf? Would he even tell her at all?

Tomorrow was full moon so he was going to have to think of something to tell her to excuse himself.

Then she walked through the door, his thoughts ceased and his breath caught as he watched her walk across the room. He couldn't help but notice that many of the other guys watched her as well and he took a selfish satisfaction in the fact that Aurora was smiling directly at him.

"Hey." She said softly, almost breathlessly as she sat down next to him.

"Hi. How's it going?" He asked.

"Great. You?"

"Not bad. Aurora listen..." He began but was interrupted by the bell and Professor Lachlan began speaking.

Remus tried to force his attention on Lachlan but found it difficult when Aurora's scent was surrounding him, intoxicating him.

He subtly scooted his chair away and feigned concentration on the lecture but she moved her chair closer to him again then pulled a quill and parchment out of her bag.

Remus dully noticed that the rest of the students had done the same so he quickly grabbed for his also. He was busy taking notes when he felt Aurora brush his elbow and point at the paper.

_What were you going to say, _she had written.

_I won't be available for Astronomy for the rest of the week, _he scribbled.

_What? Why?_

Remus thought as fast as he could and decided using the old standby excuse would be best with her.

_My mother, she's the muggle, is having surgery tomorrow so I have to go home for the rest of the week. _

_Oh, that's a too bad. I'm sorry to hear that. What's wrong with her _Aurora wrote back.

_Shit, _Remus thought. All the times he had used that excuse no had ever probed so he had never gotten further into detail with the story. Why hadn't anyone ever asked before? Luckily he was saved having to answer it when Lachlan swooped down on them.

Aurora casually tapped both of their parchments and Remus watched as their personal notes faded.

"Are you paying attention Miss Moon?" He demanded.

"Absolutely Professor. I find your teaching and this discussion riveting." She said innocently as she focused her blue eyes and a smile on the professor.

Lachlan blustered, looked extremely pleased with himself and began to blush as he resumed the lecture. Remus knew exactly how the professor felt. All Aurora had to do was turn her pure eyes and glittering smile on you and you were reduced to a babbling pile of mush.

_Don't worry about it. I'll work the chart. I hope everything turns out ok with your mum _she wrote back after Lachlan made his way to the front again. With another tap she erased that message and proceeded to take notes on the class leaving Remus feeling guilty for lying to her.

* * *

Aurora sat by the lake that night working the star chart solo and feeling a little lonely. It was amazing how quickly she'd gotten used to Remus' presence, even when she was angry and giving him the silent treatment the simple fact that he was there had given her a tingling warmth inside.

She still didn't know what his problem was the morning he found her in the prefect bathroom but she had let it go. He had apologized and everything was ok now.

Then of course there was the fact that he'd kissed her. He sure didn't kiss like someone who didn't have the inclination to get involved. He had made her toes curl with one simple kiss and she couldn't help but wonder if he was here now would he do it again? But now she wouldn't find out until next week. _How can one kiss get to you this bad? Sometimes you just know. And this one...you know. _

Whatever was responsible for his change of heart she was glad. She didn't how much longer she could have studied with him before she pounced on him.

_You should be ashamed of yourself Moon. Remus' poor mum is about to have surgery and all you're thinking about is kissing him, _she chided.

She hadn't been able to talk to him after class because his friends had quickly whisked him away after the bell rang so she still didn't know what was wrong with his mum, but then again it was kind of a nosy question.

_It's late. Quit obsessing and get back to work_, she told herself.

She logged the constellations and positions diligently for about an hour until she heard footsteps crunching on the grass. She turned and sought the source in the darkness until she finally focused on two figures making their way to the Whomping Willow.

She ducked and Aurora squinted to make them out but was surprised when she identified one of them unmistakably as Remus and the other as Madame Pomfrey, the school nurse.

She lay down on her stomach and watched as Remus stared right at her spot. _We're not usually out here this late, he doesn't know I'm here. _She held perfectly still, confident that he couldn't see her in the moonlight, and watched in curiosity. Pomfrey poked at a knot in the tree with a long stick.

_What in the world, _she wondered.

Aurora watched in mute fascination as the threatening tree stopped moving and Remus disappeared through an opening at the thick trunk and Pomfrey made her way back up to the castle.

_Odd. There must a way to travel through the Whomping Willow. Maybe it's like traveling by Floo Powder, _she thought as she stood back up and brushed herself off.

She forced herself to continue working and tried to ignore the fact that now she knew he wasn't on Hogwarts grounds anymore she felt truly empty. _Come to think of it, 2:30 is an awfully strange time of the night to leave _she thought as she read her watch, a strange feeling in her stomach.

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

When Monday rolled around Aurora anxiously waited for Remus to show up for Defense Against the Dark Arts but when the last bell rang and still the chair next to her was empty she had to tamp down her disappointment.

She hated to admit to herself that the thought of seeing him today had kept her excited all weekend.

_Well, it looks like another lonely night studying the Astronomy alone, _she thought sulkily as she dug for a quill to take notes from Professor Lachlan.

_I should make him a copy of the notes. He would probably appreciate that so he can keep up. Yes, I think I will. _

_I hope his mum is ok, _she thought suddenly.

_Here I am feeling sorry for myself when I should be worried about him. How considerate of you. What if something went wrong in her surgery, _she worried as she forced her self to pay attention.

Remus crossed the grounds slowly and silently and found that Aurora was already by the lake working. He watched her observingly for a few minutes. She had taken her robes off and was wearing a yellow sweater and jeans. She was engrossed in the stars above, scribbling on their chart as she hummed and swayed softly.

It was easy to see why she was in Ravenclaw. _She's exceptionally bright and very witty_, he thought. Even as she bent over the telescope she exuded intelligence. _And face it, she's practically carried you through Astronomy so far. What kind of help have you been? None, _he scolded himself.

Remus forced himself to move where she stood and beamed a smile at her.

"Hey. Sorry I'm late." He said startling her.

"Remus! You scared me." She answered with her hand over her heart.

"Sorry about that."

"That's ok. I just didn't expect you, that's all." She said.

"Yeah, things ran a little later than expected, so I missed classes." He explained.

"I took notes for you in DDAD." She smiled as she stooped to get them from her bag.

"Thanks. Did I miss anything important?" He asked as he pushed her gently away from the telescope so he could look through it.

"Not really." She replied as she sat down to work on the chart.

They were silent for a few minutes as he gazed and she waited for him to tell her the latitudes.

"How did everything go?" She finally asked.

"Go?" He said in confusion.

"With your mother."

"Oh. Fine. She's going to be ok." He said quickly and she didn't press. Obviously he wasn't comfortable talking about it.

"I'm glad to hear it. I was worried." She shared.

Remus felt very touched that she cared and turned around to give her a smile but it quickly dropped when he saw the shocked look on her face.

"What?" He said as he spun around, looking behind him to see what she was looking at.

"Remus, what happened to your face?" She asked with concern.

The moon had finally illuminated his face enough for her to see him clearly. He had scratches and bruises all over him.

He turned back around and thought as fast as he could.

"Oh. My cat was playing and attacked me in my sleep, so that's how I got the scratches. And the bruises are from falling out of bed. I was dreaming then fell and hit my head on my night stand." He said smoothly.

"Merlin, you had a rough week then didn't you." She replied sympathetically.

_I'm getting too good at this lying thing and I don't like it, _he thought guiltily.

"Not too bad." He said honestly.

"I have some aloe in my bag to help with those scratches." She told him.

"That would be nice. You like to take care of people don't you?" He asked.

"It's an instinct but yes I do like it." She answered as she rummaged through her bag and pulled the tube out.

"What do you use this stuff for?" He asked curiously.

"Lotion. Can you come stand over here? I think there's more light." She said as she grabbed his arm and positioned him so the moon hit him squarely in the face.

"Damn. That cat really got you." She said as she placed a hand on his shoulder and stood on tiptoe to begin dabbing the aloe on his cuts.

"You did clean these, didn't you?"

Her close proximity was making him fuzzy headed and it seemed that her voice was a mile away. He closed his eyes against her tender ministrations, her feather light touch stroking his face had his blood roaring in his ears.

"Remus?" She said a little louder.

He popped his eyes open and met her gaze as he willed himself to calm down.

"What?" He asked.

"I asked if you cleaned your cuts."

"Pomfrey did." He answered without thinking.

"You went to the hospital wing?" She inquired.

"What? No. Not voluntarily. I was coming back from home, she saw me and insisted she clean them." He lied.

"Oh." Was all she said though she felt he wasn't telling her something.

Blue eyes met gray ones as she proceeded treating his scratches until she was no longer using the aloe but stroking his cheek instead.

He reached up and stilled her hand as he continued to stare at her. He cleared his throat and forced his voice to work.

"I think that got them. Thanks." He said gently, continuing to hold her hand.

"Sure. Here, you keep the tube. I have another one. Make sure you put some on in the morning." She said, feeling very flustered.

"I will." He assured her.

"Erm, I better get going. I have a lot of homework to do." She said as she pulled her tingling hand free.

"Ok, yeah. I'll work on this some more." He said as she gathered up her stuff.

"Good night Remus."

"Night." He said as he pressed his eye back to the telescope.

"Hey Aurora." He called after she'd walked a couple of steps.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to go to the quidditch match together Saturday?" He asked shyly.

"I'd like that." She answered with a smile.

"Meet me in the Great Hall at six?" He said.

"I'll be there. See you."

"Good night." He said and watched her walk back up to the castle, leaving him pondering in the darkness.


	10. Chapter 10

Ok, so you're all thinking where the hell has Hippiechick been?

Well, I have no excuses. I didn't update for one day. And one day turned into almost two months. My most sincere apologies! It shan't happen again :)

Thanks to all those who reviewed all those many months ago. Larka, thanks for pointing out my typo, I fixed that.

* * *

Chapter 10

Aurora fluffed her hair one last time and smoothed her hand nervously down her blue robes. She didn't know why she was so nervous. _It's only quidditch, _she told herself. _And it's only Remus. _

She felt the little flutter in her stomach she always did when he crossed her mind. Poignant and intense, Remus made her feel out of sorts. Never sure what his next move would be.

He'd gone from amicable to hateful. To kissing her to stressing friendship. Even now with meeting for the quidditch match she didn't know if they were going as friends or if it was officially a date and Aurora found she didn't like not knowing.

Shaking herself from her revere she grabbed her Hufflepuff banner, which she had wasted thirty minutes looking for, and set off for the Great Hall.

It was almost six and if she didn't get there quickly Remus might think she had ditched him and leave without her. She broke into a gentle jog until she turned the corner and slowed as she saw him standing in front of the doors gazing anxiously at every student who passed.

Aurora felt her breath catch and knew it had nothing to do with her run as she forced herself to walk the remaining way to where he stood.

She watched as he broke out a relieved grin.

"Hey." Remus said as she smiled softly up at him.

"Hi."

"I thought you weren't going to make it." He said.

"Sorry about that. I was already running late." She replied apologetically. "Then I couldn't find my banner."

"Banner?" He asked.

Aurora held up her Hufflepuff banner to show him.

"You are supporting Hufflepuff right? Not Slytherin? Because if you were going to be supporting Slytherin, I never would have agreed to this dat...outing." She corrected at the last moment.

"Hell no. I'm not supporting Slytherin. It's Hufflepuff all the way."

"Good. I won't have to maim you then." She said with a smile.

"Well that's comforting. I'd hate to miss a quidditch game by being beaten up by a girl. Shall we?" He teased back.

"Ready when you are." She answered as she turned to for the front doors.

Remus reached out awkwardly, not sure if he was intending to grab her hand or press his to the small of her back but he quickly dropped his hand when she whirled around again.

"What?" She asked after seeing the movement from the corner of her eye.

"Erm...you have a piece of string on your robes." He said quickly.

"Oh. Will you pull it off please?"

Remus pretended to tug off an invisible piece of string and had to close his eyes as he felt her heat radiating through her robes, not noticing his hand had grabbed a handful of fabric and was convulsively squeezing it.

"Nearly done?" She asked after thirty seconds had ticked by.

"Nearly." He said as he released the balled up fabric he was holding. "There."

"Thanks." She said as she met his deep gray eyes. There were so many emotions brewing in his gaze Aurora began to feel as if she were drowning. So she took a step back and cleared her throat.

"Ready?" She said through a suddenly dry mouth.

"Absolutely."

Remus led Aurora to the quidditch pitch, up one of the seating towers and chose seats in the back row for the best vantage point. He couldn't help but notice how her blue eyes were gleaming with anticipation.

"Great conditions for quidditch." He remarked as he looked up at the perfectly clear sky.

"Not bad at all. A little chilly perhaps but really good other than that." She agreed.

"Are you cold?" He asked quickly.

"A little. I guess I should have brought my cloak." She said.

"Here. This will help." Remus said as he pulled a couple of bottles from his robes pocket.

"Butterbeer!" She exclaimed. "How on earth did you get this?"

"I have my sources." He said as he thought back to the Marauders Map sitting in their dormitory.

Aurora accepted it gratefully and took a sip. Instantly she felt a pleasant heat spread through her limbs and a purr of contentment slipped past her lips.

"Mmm. Perfect. Thanks." She said in a voice so smooth it was Remus's turn for dry mouth.

"Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean?" Aurora offered as she dug them out of her robes pocket.

"Wish me luck." Remus said as he accepted a brown one but quickly spit it out.

"Mud." He explained at her amused expression.

"Ahh. Mine was raspberry." She said and offered another.

He reached for a yellow one this time.

"Yellow for Hufflepuff." He stated.

He popped it into his mouth hoping for something better than mud and was relieved when a citrus flavor filled his mouth.

"Lemon." He told her.

Soon they were having fun trying to guess which flavor the other had and trying to decide who had the nastier flavor. Remus had to admit when Aurora came across the troll sweat flavored one she had won that battle. But he did try to keep from laughing when she took a big gulp of Butterbeer to wash the taste away.

"Couldn't budge up a bit, could you?" A fourth year Gryffindor boy interrupted.

Startled, Aurora looked over at the voice, almost forgetting where they were.

"Sure." She said nicely as she scooted even closer to Remus. They still weren't touching but now he could feel her heat through their robes again.

"Oy!" The boy yelled and began motioning to his friend a couple of rows below them. "Up here."

Aurora looked at the guy coming up the stairs and back at the space on the bench that had been cleared.

"They've got to be kidding." Aurora whispered to Remus.

But she soon found they weren't kidding. The fourth year boy and his friend plopped down in the small space and pushed her so close to Remus her whole left side was plastered to his right. Her soft contours pressed into his hard planes.

"Sorry." She said quietly as she accidentally stepped on Remus's foot.

"It's ok. A little tight isn't it?" He replied just as quietly as he stretched out his cramped arm on the back of the seat behind her, creating an even more intimate feel to their already close positions. She realized she was no longer chilled as her body heated due to his proximity.

Aurora started to answer him but was interrupted by the screaming that erupted from the stands. The game had began.

Remus watched Aurora's eyes light up and he realized he had no interest in watching the game today. The game was nothing compared to watching her.

As the match went on Remus found he became more and more entranced with watching Aurora. She yelled. She shouted. She jumped. She waived her banner. She was positively fascinating.

"Are you not having fun?" Aurora asked as the teams took a time out.

"I'm having a great time." He said. "Why?"

"I know everyone celebrates a different way but you're just sitting there."

"I'm keeping it all inside." He explained. "You still cold?"

"Not at all. I'm too excited to be cold now. Hufflepuff is flattening Slytherin." She replied.

Remus looked up in surprise and saw that he must have missed a lot since the score was fifty to ten.

"Are you sure you're having a good time?" She asked, not missing the fact that he obviously wasn't paying attention.

"Positive. Look they've begun again." He said as forced his attention to the game instead of the woman plastered up against him.

Then they were both yelling and screaming as the Hufflepuff Chasers put another two goals past the inept looking Slytherin Keeper. Then they had to boo as Slytherin put another two shots past Hufflepuff.

But when the Hufflepuff Seeker took off like a shot toward the opposite end of the field and caught the golden snitch in a spectacular dive they both jumped up and began bouncing up and down on their seats.

"And the game goes to Hufflepuff at two hundred points to thirty." Yelled the commentator, Donaghan Trimble.

Aurora lost herself for a moment and threw her arms around Remus for an excited hug but felt awkward at once. _Not once today has he given you any indication that this is a date. It was just a nice friendly outing, _she chided herself. So she continued bouncing up and down and excitedly hugged the fourth year next to her too, ignoring his friends high-five when she released him.

Remus felt a pang of jealousy as she turned her attentions to guy next to her and had to work to tamp it down.

When she calmed a bit she sat back down in her seat, as Remus had already done.

"Great game." She said.

"Very exciting. Glad Slytherin didn't win." He agreed.

"Ugg. That would have been intolerable."

"You're very free when you're watching quidditch." He remarked.

"What do you mean?" She inquired.

"You're fun. You get into it." He said.

"Ahh. Well I've always loved this game. And when I got selected for the House team, I suppose it just turned into an addiction."

"You never told me you were on your House team!" He said with disbelief. "What position do you play?"

"Chaser. This is my first season. I was only on the reserve team before so I only got to play one game.

"Well congratulations. That's exciting."

Aurora gave him that heart stopping smile again before she glanced up at the moon overhead and then around the almost empty pitch.

"I suppose we better go." She said with a hint of sadness.

She stood and led the way down the stairs to the grass. Remus who was not ready for the night to end quite yet either grabbed her hand to stop her.

"How about a walk?" Remus asked.

"That would be lovely." Aurora said as she looked down at their joined hands, trying not to get too hopeful when he didn't release her.

He led her leisurely toward the lake, still chatting about the game. When he stopped at their normal spot at the lake edge they sank down to the ground and looked over the reflective water.

Remus saw her shiver out of the corner of his eye and pulled his robes off and wrapped her securely in them.

"Better?" He asked as he continued snuggling her in closer into the warmth of the fabric.

Aurora could smell his intoxicating scent on them and inhaled deeply.

"Perfect." She said moved her hands up to pull it even more tightly around her neck but found Remus's hands doing the same thing.

They sat there staring intently into each others gaze and not moving their touching hands.

"Aurora, I..."

"Remus, what..." They began at the same time and laughed awkwardly.

"You go." They both said again.

"Ladies first." Remus insisted as he chuckled.

Aurora finally pulled her hands away and looked uncomfortably away before speaking.

"I was just wondering...erm. What do you want with me?"

"In what way?" He asked feeling a little endeared as she blushed scarlet.

"I never know where I stand with you. Everything is always so mixed up. What kind of friends are we?" She said as she finally looked him in the eye.

Remus looked into her searching blue eyes and felt a tug on his heartstrings. She was twisting her necklace nervously around her fingers when he lifted his hand to her cup her cheek and brush his thumb over her full lower lip. He watched her eyes close slowly and open again as he leaned in purposefully.

When his lips finally touched hers he felt little explosions taking place in his stomach and couldn't help but notice that she tasted faintly of Butterbeer. He scooted closer and tugged them to their knees so he could get better access and felt her wrap her arms around his waist, bunching the fabric of his jumper. He sank his fingers into her soft blonde curls as he tilted her head to allow his tongue access to the warm recess of her mouth.

Aurora groaned low in her throat as Remus kissed her senseless as their tongues continued dueling and only when she began feeling dizzy from lack of breath did she pull away. But Remus only used this time to press kisses down the column of her neck and up again until he reached the shell of her ear.

Nibbling and biting playfully until she was shivering for an entirely different reason than the cold. Then he began teasingly darting his tongue in and out of her ear as she trembled and whimpered and arched into him.

He daringly ran a hand up her rib cage to cup one of her breasts through her clothes and the two robes covering her while the other traced lazy circles on her neck, sending chills down her spine and setting her on fire. A fire only he could quench.

"Remus.." Was all she could strangle out.

He looked into her passion filled gaze and smiled before he brushed her hair out of her face brought her lips to his for another hot kiss that had her clinging to him desperately until a crunch on the grass caught their attention.

"Dammit! Someone's coming." Remus said quietly as they stood quickly.

"Come on. We better get back to the castle, fast. I don't think the Headmaster would like it if one of his prefects was caught snogging at the lake in the dead of night." Aurora replied with a smile before she tugged him into a run toward the castle.

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks for the reviews! I appreciate them!

* * *

Chapter 11 

"You look different, Moony." Sirius said as he and the other Marauders worked on some of their homework in the Gryffindor common room.

It had been two weeks since Remus and Aurora had had their quidditch date. Outside of he and his friends hijinks, it had been the some of his best times at Hogwarts. Secret looks during lessons, stolen kisses in empty classrooms, long talks about nothing, yet everything.

She was the first thing he thought about when he woke and the last thing he saw before he went to sleep. Even then, most nights would find her invading his dreams too. He knew, deep down, that this was no passing crush.

"HEY! REMUS!" Sirius yelled as he waved a hand in front of Remus's dazed eyes.

"What?" Remus asked defensively.

"I said you look different lately." Sirius repeated.

"How do you mean?" Remus asked.

"You look...happy." James said.

"Do I?"

"It's absolutely disgusting." Sirius ribbed.

"I suppose it's because I am happy. For one of the first times ever." Remus admitted.

"Why are you suddenly so happy?" Peter asked cluelessly.

"Are you really that thick, Wormtail?" Sirius chortled as Peter blushed hotly.

"It's because of his girlfriend, Peter." James explained patiently.

Remus opened his mouth to argue but it seemed pointless to lie to his friends.

"I can't believe she likes me. Just as I am." Remus said.

"You've told her about your...er problem." Sirius asked in surprise.

Remus moved his eyes away guiltily and muttered no.

"Moony, you better get on with it. Women get mad when you lie to them. So the longer you put it off the worse it's going to be."

"I know, Prongs. I know."

"Well then what are you waiting for?" Sirius inquired.

He let the thought that he had been pushing away for a week come to the forefront of his mind and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"What if..." Remus swallowed hard. "What if she won't accept me?"

"You don't need that! She's just a shallow bitch. You move on and do better." Peter said, apparently thinking this was a helpful remark.

Remus gave him a dirty look as he spoke angrily.

"Don't call her that. She's not a bitch. And she's not shallow either."

"Listen, Remus." James said smoothly, trying to divert an argument. "Full moon is a week away. You should tell her before you go."

"Yeah." Remus replied tonelessly.

"You need to stop assuming the worst in people. We stuck by you, didn't we?" Sirius said.

"Yes you did. Thanks Padfoot." He said feeling a bit better.

"Ok, change of topic. I'm tired of talking about me." He added and leaned back to listen to the chatter that turned to broomsticks.

* * *

Aurora watched Remus the following night from her perch on the ground as he pressed his eye to the telescope. His thoughts were clearly somewhere else, his body was rigid and he had yet to meet her gaze all evening. 

In fact he might as well have been there alone for all the attention he was paying her.

"Remus?" She asked tentatively.

"Yeah?" Came his curt reply.

"Umm. Are you alright? You seem a little preoccupied." She went on cautiously.

"Fine." Remus said succinctly.

Remus was so distracted with his own nerves he didn't even notice her eyes shining suddenly much brighter or the bite to her lower lip as she focused her attention on the ground.

He had decided that he was going to tell her tonight. If he wanted to take their relationship any further he would have to quit lying to her.

After another thirty minutes of silence he finally spoke up.

"What do you think of half humans?" He asked quickly, trying his best to sound normal.

"Pardon?" She said, clearly not expecting the sudden conversation.

"Half humans. Like Centaurs and half giants, that kind of thing. What do you think of them?" He clarified nonchalantly.

"Erm.." She began. _What in the world brought this up, _she wondered. _Oh well, at least he's talking. _

"I don't know. I've never met either of them." She said honestly.

"Surely you have some kind of opinion."

"You can't judge what you don't know. Not accurately anyway. All you would have to go off was stereotypes." She said quietly, realizing he was hanging onto every word she said.

"And you don't think stereotypes are accurate?" He debated.

"Not entirely. I think a lot of information is from individuals are uninformed and judgmental. Or scared." Aurora said.

"Scared of what?"

"Of what they don't know or understand." She explained.

"So you have no problem with half humans." He said with resolve, his heart feeling a little lighter.

"None. They're not bothering me. They're not making my life more difficult. I don't see one around attacking me."

Remus fell silent and stared back up at the moon overhead. Wishing it wasn't approaching fullness.

"What are your thoughts on the matter?" Aurora said engagingly after a ten minute silence. Fully aware that this was no meaningless chat.

"The same as yours." He replied honestly.

Another ten minutes past and Aurora finally had to ask the question she'd wanted to since he brought it up.

"Why Remus?"

"Huh?" He asked, not paying attention.

"What brought that up?"

Remus looked at her softly inquisitive face and knew the moment had come. She had just assured him of everything he was timid about but still he hesitated.

"Aurora, I need to tell you something. Very important." He said quickly before he lost his nerve.

"What is it?" She asked soothingly.

Remus opened his mouth but snapped it shut when he heard the crunching of feet treading on the grass heading toward them.

"Remus?" She said.

"Someone is coming." He replied in a hushed tone. And pressed his eye back to the telescope as Aurora picked up the forgotten star chart.

"How's it going you two?" Professor Sinistra said when she emerged into the clearing.

"Just great." They said.

"No questions?" She asked.

The two of them shook their heads no and were bid good night as the professor left them to it.

Aurora waited until Sinistra was out of ear shot before she turned back to Remus.

"Now, what were you going to say?" She asked him.

Remus turned to look at her and realized that no matter how short the interruption was, it was enough for the moment to pass.

"Only that I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier." He said resignedly, kicking himself for acting gutless.

"No problem." Aurora replied, knowing that was not what he was going to say.

"Anytime you want to talk Remus...I'm an excellent listener." She added before bidding him good night and making her way to the castle.

* * *

Damn teachers...always interrupting things.


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you, thank you! I appreciate the reviews.

* * *

Chapter 12

Monday nights opportunity had slipped away.

Tuesday evening he didn't even try to broach the subject.

Wednesday, Aurora had been gazing anxiously at him all night because he kept opening his mouth then snapping it shut. She had kissed his lips gently and ran her hand soothingly down his cheek as she whispered incoherently, he supposed to make him feel better. And instead of telling her then, he yanked her to him and crushed her mouth with his. Pouring all of his self doubts and emotions into the soul stealing kiss.

Which brought him to Thursday. Tonight was his last opportunity to tell her his secret. And he better do it soon because it was about the time that they headed inside.

"Ok, not to keep harassing you about it but are you sure you're ok Remus? You've been acting peculiar all week." Aurora finally said from her usual perch on the ground.

"I'm fine." He answered.

"All right. Well, I'm going to go ahead and go back to my common room. I'm a little tired." She said slowly.

"Good night." He said and helped her to her feet so he could press a tender to kiss to her sweet lips.

"Night." She managed dreamily as she turned to go. But stopped mid-step and whirled back around.

"Are you positive there is nothing you wish to talk about." She asked, grabbing his hand.

"Positive." He said and squeezed her hand before bringing it to his lips to brush a kiss across. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"Being you." He said simply. "Good night."

"Bye Remus." She replied with a smile before she turned and vanished into the darkness.

* * *

"So?" James asked the second Remus climbed through the portrait hole.

"Where's Wormtail and Padfoot?" Remus asked, trying to change subjects.

"Peter is sleeping and Sirius is still out doing Merlin knows what with Avery." James said impatiently then repeated "So?"

"What?" Remus asked, dreading what was coming.

"Don't act like you don't know! What did she say when you told her?" James admonished.

"Nothing."

"See! We told you she wouldn't judge you. You just have to learn to trust people a little." James said.

"Yeah. Listen, I'm tired. I think I'll go on up to bed." Remus said without meeting James's eyes.

He slouched away feeling lower than a flobber worm. He had got to the base of the stairs when James called him on it.

"You didn't tell her did you Moony?" James said in disbelief.

Remus turned around to face his friend, tamping his temper down.

"No. I didn't tell her."

"Why? You're just making it harder. The longer you wait the worse it will be." James said for the umpteenth time.

"I know." He said working hard not snap.

"Then why don't you tell her?"

Remus sat there, debating on whether to answer or not.

"Well?" James persisted.

"BECAUSE I'M AFRAID OF LOSING HER, OK!" Remus shouted.

James looked momentarily taken aback by his normally reserved and calm friend's words but quickly recovered.

"It's just that for the first time in my life, everything seems to be going my way. My life is almost perfect. And I don't want that messed up yet." Remus said more calmly.

"I've never seen you this worked up. Over anything. She must have really gotten to you." James remarked.

"Don't make fun. You have no idea what it's like being this torn up over a girl." Remus said indignantly.

"Oh yeah? How long have I been after Evans? And she can't stand me. Thinks I'm an ass. At least you have your dream girl." James said bitterly.

"Sorry Prongs. I didn't mean anything by that."

"I know. Listen, I've seen you two together and I can almost promise you that girl isn't going anywhere. She's too far gone over you." James said as he stood and crossed the room to where Remus was standing.

"You just need to bite the bullet and get it over with." He said as he clapped Remus on the shoulder. "Night Moony."

"Night." He muttered alone in the empty common room weighing James's words.

* * *

"Aurora, wake up! You've got an owl." Came Avery's voice through a foggy haze.

Aurora rolled over sleepily and opened an eye halfway but nearly fell out of bed in surprise when she found a pair of brown ones an inch from her face.

She gasped and bolted upright while the barn owl took off nervously. She saw a piece of parchment tied to his leg and crawled out of bed.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She told the owl. "You frighted me."

The owl cautiously and slowly came to rest on her bed again to allow her to remove the note from his leg.

"Thanks." She said before the owl took flight again, apparently very eager to get away from her.

"Hey, I'll see you down at breakfast all right?" Avery said.

"Yeah. I'll be down in a bit."

Aurora sat down on her bed and unrolled the letter.

_Dear Aurora,_

_I have taken ill and will be missing for a while. Don't bother coming to see me, Pomfrey says it's contagious and I'm not allowed visitors. I just wanted you to know so you wouldn't worry. Sorry._

_Remus_

Aurora reread the note several times and tried to fight the disappointment that was in her heart. She was rather hoping they could be alone tonight, without the distractions of homework.

She forced herself to get dressed and met Avery in the Great Hall.

"What is it?" Avery asked at the dispirited look on her friends face.

"Remus is ill." Aurora said as she flopped down onto the bench.

"Well he can't help that. Everyone gets sick. I've never seen you this gaga over anyone. You've lost it girl." Avery replied as she pushed the plate of sausages toward Aurora.

"He's different than anyone I've ever known." She answered before she took a bite.

"Come on. We'll be late for Care of Magical Creatures."

"But I've just got here." Aurora protested.

"Well then you should have got up earlier. Come on." Avery said as Aurora followed her across the grounds.

That night Aurora was beginning to feel too cooped up in her common room. She was restless and just needed to get away from the noisy students swarming by the fire.

"I'll see you later." She told Avery before she pushed aside the statue that guarded the Ravenclaw common room.

She walked aimlessly around the corridors for awhile before finding herself leaving through the heavy oak doors and heading toward her spot at the lake.

She sat down and drew her knees up to her chest as she became lost in thought.

_I wish Remus was here. I really wanted to talk to him about taking our relationship to a more intimate level. It took me forever to work up the nerve to talk to him about it and now he's gone for who knows how long, _she thought with exasperation.

Each time he kissed her she was set ablaze and each time it took longer and longer for her to cool off. She knew she was ready for something deeper but would he be?

Aurora was pulled from her thoughts by the soft squishing of grass and quickly flattened herself to the ground. _I'm in no mood for company, _she thought grimly as she squinted into the dark to see who it was.

Just as a month ago, there was no mistaking his tall outline in the moonlight. Remus followed Madam Pomfrey to the Whomping Willow again.

_What in heavens name is going on? If he's so ill why is he walking out in the middle of the night, _she wondered as she checked her watch, not realizing how long she had been out there. _Three o'clock? Where is he going at this hour?_

She watched as Pomfrey prodded a spot in the tree causing the threatening branches to stop moving and then Remus disappeared into an opening and Pomfrey made her way back to the castle.

_What in the hell is going on, _she thought as her brain began working frantically.

She sat for about a half an hour as wild possibilities went running through her head until more crunching grass caught her ears and she had to throw herself down to the ground again.

This sound was different than the one before. Heavier. Definitely more than one person. Come to think of it, it didn't really sound like a person at all. More like hooves really.

She squinted into the dark again and found her eyes on most peculiar sight. She closed her eyes and shook her head to clear her focus but found the same scene in front of her.

There was a great shaggy black dog, a large rat, and a huge animal that looked like either a moose or a buck. _I've never seen animals act like that, _she thought in amazement.

She watched as the rat ran underneath the flailing branches of the Whomping Willow to prod the knot. The limbs immediately stopped moving and the other two animals joined the rat at the base of the tree before disappearing through the same opening as Remus.

_Something is definitely up, _she thought firmly before pulled herself from the ground and went over to the Whomping Willow too.

Aurora picked up the same stick Madam Pomfrey had used and prodded the knot at the base. To her great amazement a hidden door swung open.

She glanced around nervously to make sure she was quite alone, pulled her wand from her pocket, lit the tip and with a resigned deep breath crawled through the hole.

* * *

We all know how I am with the cliffies...sorry :( 


	13. Chapter 13

Authors Note: Ok, you know you're sad when you crack yourself up in the story _you_ are writing. All I will say is 'male or female.' Hee hee.

Thank you all for your reviews! I appreciate them!

* * *

Chapter 13

Remus sat on the floor of his hideout in the Shrieking Shack and watched his three friends talk amongst themselves. He could feel symptoms of the following nights full moon beginning to affect him already. He was absolutely exhausted.

He could feel his eyes drooping as listened to Sirius ribbing James about his latest wooing technique on Lily Evans.

Remus took several deep breaths and could feel himself about to drop off.

Inhaling deeply, he shifted more comfortably on the hard wood floor. Then a familiar scent, that he couldn't quite place, reached his over sensitized nostrils and his eyes snapped open in alarm.

"Shut it!" He whispered urgently as his friends looked at him in surprise.

"Why?" Peter asked louder than necessary.

"Someone else is here." Remus said quietly.

All four of them stood so stock still it appeared that they had quit breathing.

"Where's the bloody map?" He asked as he searched the floor frantically.

James reached behind him and handed over the Marauders Map. Remus took it quickly and pulled out his wand which he tapped to the parchment.

"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good." He ordered softly and watched as lines began moving all over the page forming a map of the Hogwarts grounds.

Remus quickly found the Whomping Willow and searched for the little black dot that would tell them who was in the Shrieking Shack.

It was labeled _Aurora Moon_ and she was coming right toward them.

"Oh shit. It's Aurora." He told them with pit in his stomach.

"Padfoot, you've got to go get rid of her." Remus said urgently but Sirius was already on his feet and before he knew it the big, black shaggy dog was bounding toward the door and down the stairs.

He listened nervously as Sirius gave his most threatening bark.

"If you would have just told her Moony..." James trailed off.

"I know!" Remus said angrily, more at himself for anything. This is not how he would choose for her to find out.

Aurora picked her way through the dark tunnel and saw a staircase up ahead. She still wasn't completely sure what this was. Her feet on the ground were making no noise of any kind. Was this part of the tree or something else? Maybe it was a portal to another place.

She gasped in surprise as the giant black dog from earlier hurdled down the stairs barking madly. She pointed her wand at it in what she hoped was a threatening manner and began to back up the way she came making sure to keep eye contact with it so it wouldn't know she was afraid.

"Nice doggie." She said soothingly as she stopped moving.

He quit barking to look at her curiously.

"That's it. Good boy." She continued, taking a tentative step closer and offering her hand to him to sniff while the other one kept her wand trained on the dog.

She adored animals and waited patiently while the dog closed the remaining to gap to sniff her proffered hand. When he gave her a friendly lick she felt the nerves drain from her tense body and moved her hand to scratch his ears.

"What are you doing in here?" She said softly to him as she coaxed him closer.

At that moment the dogs stomach growled loudly and looked up at her quizzically.

"Did someone dump you here?" She wondered aloud as she glanced around again.

"Judging by the tummy growl, you sound starved. Come on. Lets go back to the castle and I'll see if I can't find something for you to eat." She said with the strange feeling that he was understanding every word she was saying.

She put her hand to the scruff of his neck to lead him back outside and he obligingly followed, wagging his tail happily and circling excitedly around her legs.

"I'll have to give you a name you know. I can't keep calling you boy." She told him. "Come to think of it, I don't even know if you are male."

Aurora tugged him up by the paws to make sure he was and when she set him gently back down again she found him looking at her indignantly as his eyes flashed.

"Well I'm sorry. But you don't want a girl name, do you?" She said teasingly. Every time she spoke she knew he was listening and understanding.

"Now, how about..." She paused casting her mind around for a good name. She immediately thought of Remus, which made her think of astronomy, which made her think of constellations, which made her think of stars. "How about Sirius?"

"I know someone named Sirius." She added as an afterthought.

The dog looked up at her with what she could have swore was alarm and almost seemed to raise what would have been his eyebrows had he been human.

"It's also the name of a star...in a constellation...in the shape of a dog."

"Why am I explaining this to you?" She wondered out loud but could see him visibly relax.

_Maybe he's not pure dog...maybe he's part kneazle or something. Can dogs be kneazle or just cats? I know he knows what I'm saying, _she thought as she sized him up. Then his stomach growled loudly again.

"Sorry Sirius. Lets go get you some food." She said as she led him onto the grounds, forgetting why she was in the tree to begin with.

This chapter is a little short but if I put this one and the next together then it would have been too long. So the next chapter will be on it's way soon!


	14. Chapter 14

Thank you all for the reviews. I appreciate them!

Aradia-rising: That's a good suggestion. I'll keep it in mind. I haven't tried a Sirius story. Perhaps...hmm. Thanks for the idea!

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Chapter 14

Aurora sat on her bed the following night trying to dampen her curiosity. With the appearance of the dog last night she had forgotten all about seeing what Remus was up to.

_It's really none of your concern, you know _she told herself. _Remus would tell me if it was important and I trust him._

With that settled she tried to focus her attention on her Herbology homework. She was in the middle of writing an explanation on the properties of mallowsweet when the niggling voice in the back of her mind came forward again.

_But was with all the animals traveling in a pack like that, _she asked herself. _And why did Remus disappear into the Whomping Willow? _

The snoring of one of her roommates pulled her from her doubts and she lowered her lit wand closer to her Herbology report, though she didn't really need to. The full moon outside was flooding her dormitory with soft light.

_Too bad Remus is ill. It would be very romantic to be out stargazing by the light of the full moon. Stealing kisses between studying. Mmm. _She allowed her mind to fantasize about Remus's kiss before making up her mind.

She needed to see him. Now. She didn't care if he was ill or not. Surely he wasn't contagious anymore. Madame Pomfrey would never know. She was in the castle and Remus was not. She need be none the wiser.

Aurora put on her trainers and grabbed her cloak before setting silently off across the grounds.

She walked quickly until she neared the lake and a noise caught her attention. There was a definite sound of crunching grass that had her stopping dead in her tracks, listening hard.

It didn't sound like feet. It sounded more like...hooves.

Aurora turned to look around for source and found it was the same group of animals from last night. She could see clearly now that they much closer to her. What she had mistaken as a moose or a buck last night was in fact a great stag. There was the huge black shaggy dog she had dubbed Sirius and the large rat. But they had also added one more their number.

It looked like another dog. She squinted into the night to see it more clearly. No, not a dog. _A wolf_, she realized and again wondered at the odd traveling group.

She took an instinctive step backwards as she noticed the wolf sniffing the air and turn it's yellow eyes upon her. _Shit, that' s no ordinary wolf, _Aurora thought. She grabbed her wand from her jean pocket as the werewolf suddenly began running at her.

Fear paralyzed her momentarily before she said the first spell that came to her mind.

_"Stupefy!" _She yelled.

Horror struck she tried to get her feet moving to run but all she could do was watch the werewolf racing at her as if in slow motion. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the stag and dog begin to run at her also.

_Oh Merlin, I'm going to die _she thought frantically as she finally managed to take a step backward at least.

The werewolf was right on top of her now, the spell beginning to wear off. It lunged at her and swiped a paw furiously at her face, catching her on the cheek. The other paw took a swing and got her shoulder, shredding her cloak.

Aurora shrieked with surprise and pain. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the black dog begin to attack the werewolf. They tumbled backwards as they rolled around on the ground.

That was all she needed to know she had to get the hell out of there. She began to run back up to the castle. But the stag was running with her now.

It dipped it's great antlered head and angled itself at her as if to attack her legs. She cringed, preparing herself for the pain that was about to follow. But it never came and suddenly she was lifted from her feet. Surprised, she looked down to find herself on the stag's wide back, carrying her to the castle.

It was as if she had been sucked into a world of make believe. She had never seen animals behave this way but she hardly had time to dwell on it. The stag pounded across the grounds and she found she had to hold very tightly to it's neck just to keep from falling off.

When it reached the front doors he skidded to a halt and allowed her to climb off his back. He stared at her nonplused for a moment before looking down at the ground then back. As if he were trying to make a decision.

And for the second time in two days Aurora had the feeling that an animal was more than meets the eye.

"What are you?" She asked softly.

With one last decisive look the stag in front of her turned into a man. And not just any man. Remus's friend.

"James?" Aurora said disbelievingly.

"Aurora, you've got to get to the hospital wing." James said hurriedly pressing her torn cloak to her shoulder wound in an effort to stop the profuse bleeding.

"You're an Animagus?" She asked, not hearing him.

"Yes." He said impatiently and grabbed her by her uninjured shoulder to shake her to attention. "Listen to me, you need to go to the hospital wing. Don't tell Pomfrey what attacked you."

"Why?"

"Just don't. You'll regret it later if you do. I promise you. For your own sake." He said almost pleading with her.

"Ok." She replied slowly.

"I need to get back and help Sirius. Can you make it on your own?" James asked quickly.

"Yes, of course. Wait, how did you know I named him Sirius?" Aurora asked with confusion.

"Remus will explain everything when he's back to himself again." James said and turned on the stairs. "Oh and please don't mention the Animagus thing to anyone."

"No. No I won't. Thank you for saving me." She said and with that James turned back into the impressive stag and cantered back toward the lake.

_When Remus is back to himself again? What in the hell did James mean by that, _Aurora wondered as she walked slowly to the hospital wing.


	15. Chapter 15

Thank you all for your reviews!

M.Maebeuf-What did I leave out? Where? In this chapter? I reread it and didn't find anything. I'd like to fix it though if you tell me where...

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Chapter 15 

Aurora lay in the hospital wing allowing Madame Pomfrey to fuss over her heavily bleeding scratches.

"You say the cat sprung on while you were sleeping, eh?" Madame Pomfrey said as she pressed an antibiotic potion mixture to the angry marks.

"Yes. It's my room mates cat. I had to fling it off me to stop the attack but I don't know where it went. I was in a dead sleep." Aurora said as convincingly as she could. True to her word to James, she had not shared that it was really a werewolf that had attacked her.

"Probably thought it was playing but he did get you good, didn't he." Pomfrey bustled.

Aurora said nothing. She bit her lip hard against the stinging sensation as Pomfrey continued sponging the potion to the cuts.

"These are very deep for a cat." Pomfrey remarked.

"Well, it's a very large cat." Aurora said and met the nurse's eyes.

"Must be." Pomfrey replied and finished her tending. "You are to stay here for the rest of the night. Your scratches will need this mixture applied in the morning as well. Here are some pajamas for you."

Madame Pomfrey set up a screen around her bed and disappeared. Leaving Aurora to nothing but her own thoughts. She stretched out on the bed to mull over what had happened tonight and James's cryptic last words.

* * *

Somehow the werewolf had broken into the hospital wing and was running toward Aurora. She screamed in fright and reached quickly for her wand.

"_Scourgify" _She yelled and watched in confusion as the werewolf's mouth began spilling bubbles though it still kept charging her.

"_Waddiwasi"_ She shouted again and saw a wad of gum shoot from a bedside table and up the werewolf's nose. Still it did not slow.

"_Eat Slugs!" _She cried and watched as he did stop momentarily to belch up a slimly gray slug but immediately resumed it's path toward her.

_Why am I doing all these useless spells against this thing, _she wondered stupidly as she tried to pull herself from the bed. But when she looked down she had many hands holding her down. She tried to pry herself out of their grip but she was no match to their strength.

She looked down to plead with her captors and found herself looking into familiar eyes. There was Sirius and James tugging her backwards by her arms. Remus's other friend, Peter had a hold of her ankles. And then Remus himself, who had his arms around her midriff and was tugging her further into the bed.

"Please! You have to let me go. He's going to kill me." Aurora begged.

"Remus will talk to you when he's back to himself." James told her.

"But he's right there." Aurora replied with bewilderment.

"Aurora, what do you think of half humans?" Sirius asked her from below.

"Pardon?"

"Werewolves. What do you think of them?" Peter inquired.

Aurora glanced back at the werewolf that was still running at her but found it was no longer a werewolf. It was Remus running at her. She looked down in confusion and found that Remus was still holding her round the middle. When she looked back up again it was the werewolf.

Bafflement was setting in and all she wanted was out of this nightmare. She tried again to break free but got nowhere.

Aurora pointed her wand blindly behind her and yelled "_Flagrate!_"

When the ones underneath her let go to fight away the fire she had just set she pulled herself from the bed.

Aurora tripped over the bed sheets and whacked her head on the night table beside it and was blinking the stars away when she heard a voice from far away.

"Dear child! What in heavens name are you doing?" Cried Madame Pomfrey urgently and ran over to tug her patient back into bed.

Aurora blinked slowly and tried to focus her attention on Pomfrey.

"You're drenched with sweat!" She exclaimed. "You must have been having an awful dream. I could hear you screaming all the way in my quarters."

"Dream. Yes. It was a dream." Aurora said, knowing it was more than that as she tried to calm her pounding heart.

"I'm sorry I woke you Madame Pomfrey. I'm fine now, honest. You can go back to bed." Aurora said.

"Would you like a sleeping aid?" Pomfrey asked anxiously.

"No. I'm ok. Thanks." Aurora said.

She knew that no amount of sleep aid would chase away the truth that had just been realized. Her subconscious mind had found what her conscious mind could not. The clues had been pieced together and there was no avoiding the truth.

A pain that went beyond any kind of physical agony ripped through her with that knowledge. Remus Lupin had attacked her tonight. Remus Lupin was the werewolf.

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Authors Note: Just to let you all know, I probably won't be updating for the rest of the week. I don't know why I waited until the last minute but I'm rereading OotP before HBP comes out and I only have 5 more days now, we all know how long it is. So I have to get cracking. I might get chapter 16 done tonight too...not sure yet. If not, I'll see you after HBP! 


	16. Chapter 16

Thank you for the reviews!

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Chapter 16

_Remus, _

_We need to talk_ _as soon as possible. _

_Aurora_

Aurora stood in the Owlery reading over her short but to the point note before attaching it to a tawny owls leg.

"Take this to Remus Lupin's dormitory and leave it on his bed." She told the owl before it took off through the open window wall.

Remus was due back tomorrow and she was insistent on getting everything out in the open. The sooner the better.

She touched a hand tentatively to her cheek feeling the healing marks. It wasn't the fact that he was a werewolf that bothered her. It was that he didn't believe in her enough to tell the truth.

The way she looked at it, this whole thing could have been avoided if Remus had just trusted her. But he hadn't. And that hurt her more than was probably wise.

Because some time over the two months they had been seeing each other she had fallen for him.

* * *

Remus opened his eyes slowly, blinking against the bright morning sunlight and stretched out on the dusty hard wood floor. But when he rolled over he knew immediately something wasn't right.

Sirius, Peter and James were all sitting on the floor staring at him apprehensively.

"What?" Remus asked as he sat up. He watched his three friends share a look and braced himself.

"What is it?" He asked again, this time with a nervous bite in his tone.

"Erm, Remus..." James finally said. "Something has happened."

"You attacked somebody on the first night of the full moon." Peter added helpfully.

Remus felt his stomach clench at that news but before he had a chance to ask Sirius broke in.

"She's fine, Remus. No harm, you didn't bite her or anything. Just scraped her up a bit."

"I attacked a girl?" Remus asked looking pained.

"You got her shoulder and her cheek." James said.

"How did she get away?"

"Well Padfoot attacked you to distract your attention from her and then she rode away on my back." James replied.

His three friends were silent as they allowed him to absorb the information.

"Who did I attack?" Remus said in a would be casual tone.

Again, the three of them shared a look that caused the knot in his stomach to worsen.

"Aurora." James said after a tense silence.

Remus felt the bottom of his stomach drop entirely at this news.

"My Aurora?" He asked, swearing softly.

James nodded.

"She, uh, sent you this mate." Sirius said handing Remus a letter.

He unfolded it and read the short note quickly. Expecting more, he turned it over but found nothing.

Remus sank his head into his hands and groaned.

"She knows." He said with the utmost certainty.

"Honestly, you're lucky she didn't bust you before. She's not stupid." Sirius agreed.

"She must be furious with me." Remus said.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Just be honest with her from now on." James replied.

"If there is a from now on." Remus snorted, running a hand nervously through his shaggy hair.

"There will be." Peter assured him.

"Where is she? I need to find her." Remus said as he glanced around for the Marauder's Map.

Sirius was already holding it and combing the grounds for her.

"She's in Potions. With Slytherin."

"Well I'll just have to go pull her from it. Forge a note from Dumbledore would you Padfoot?" Remus said as he shoved a blank piece of parchment toward Sirius.

"Why me?"

"Because you do the best forging." Remus said impatiently.

"I know. I just like hearing it." Sirius said and laughed as Remus rolled his eyes.

_Professor Gwenog, _

_Please excuse Aurora Moon and send her directly to my office._

_Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,_

_Albus Dumbledore _

"Thanks. See you later guys." Remus said before running down the stairs of the Shrieking Shack.

He ran across the grounds, into the castle and down into the dungeons. He skidded to a halt outside the Potion chambers door, letting his breathing return to normal.

Remus threw back his shoulders doing his best to look like an official prefect before knocking on the door and entering.

He marched across the room to Professor Gwenog and waited while she read the note.

"Miss Moon? The headmaster wants to see you, dear." Professor Gwenog called kindly.

Aurora looked up from her potion and felt a dead weight drop into her tummy. Remus was standing at the front of her classroom, eyeing her with apprehension and a trace of sadness.

She bent to gather her belongings and made her way to the front of the class with a sense of foreboding.

Remus gave her a weak smile then led her out of the room. When the door had closed behind them he spun around to face her. He trailed a finger down her scabbed cheek and bit his lower lip.

"Aurora, I.." He began.

"Do you really want to this here?" She asked as she pulled away from his touch and looked at the floor.

Remus dropped his hand immediately and nodded. He turned again and led her up to the main part of the castle and up seven flights of stairs until he stopped in the middle of the hallway.

He closed his eyes as if concentrating very hard on something and to Aurora's utter bewilderment a door suddenly appeared.

Her eyebrows raised in surprise as Remus stepped back to allow her to enter.

"What is this place?" She asked curiously as she looked around. It was as if they had entered someone's lounge. Two squishy armchairs and a sofa formed a triangle around a cozy fireplace and the end tables that flanked the chairs were laden with butterbeer.

"The Room of Requirement." Remus said as he guided her to the sofa then sat down next to her.

"I've never been in here before."

"We, my friends and I that is, just discovered it this year. It's whatever you want, whenever you want. You just have to stand outside the door and concentrate on what you want it to be."

"Oh." Was all she said as she looked uncomfortably around.

"I, erm, got your note. We do need to talk Aurora." Remus said as he chucked a finger under her chin to bring her gaze to his.

"I know Remus." And he knew that her statement had more than one meaning.

"I'm so sorry. About everything." He spilled out. "I'm sorry for lying to you, it killed me to do that. I'm sorry about attacking you. I would never intentionally cause you pain...of any kind. You know that don't you?"

"No, I don't know that, Remus. You lying to me hurt worse than you attacking me. You didn't trust me enough to share and you had plenty of opportunities to tell me you're a werewolf." She said as her eyes so shone brightly she had to look away.

"I do trust you!" Remus cried out louder than he intended. "I knew from the first moment I bumped into you on the train that you were different. From anyone. It's just that everything was going so perfect...you're so perfect and nothing ever goes my way. I guess I just wanted to hold on to the feeling of an uncomplicated life as long as I could."

"You just make it more complicated than it has to be." She told him in what she hoped was a cold voice, a single tear now trailing down her cheek.

"So I've been told." Remus said wryly.

"Listen, you are the most important thing I have in my life right now. It pains me to no end knowing that I hurt you...mentally and physically." Remus said sincerely as he turned her face back to him and stroked a finger down her uninjured cheek to her neck.

Aurora felt her anger and hurt melting away at his heart felt apology.

"No more lies?" She asked.

"Nothing but the truth." He promised.

"Then apology is accepted."

Remus breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her into a bone crushing hug.

"Remus, I can't breath!" She exclaimed as she tried to loosen his grip.

"Sorry bout that." He said and relaxed his grip slightly.

They sat in silence, wrapped in each others embrace for about ten minutes before Aurora finally spoke.

"So, how private is this room?" She asked shyly.

"Extremely. I don't think anyone else knows about it. Why?" Remus replied.

"I have something I've been wanting to talk to you about." She said as she toyed with a lock of her hair.

"What's that?" He wondered.

Aurora shifted suddenly on the couch so that she was on his lap with her legs straddling him, pinning him. Her face so close Remus could feel her hot breath on his cheek and stirring his hair.

"Us." She said and watched as Remus swallowed hard.

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Hmmm, guess we all know what's coming next... 


	17. Chapter 17

This chapter is rated M for sexual content.

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Chapter 17

"What about us?" Remus asked in a would be calm voice, willing his raging body to calm down.

Aurora settled herself even closer to him and leaned in to his ear. She caught the lobe in her teeth and bit playfully, listening at his sharp intake of breath.

"I want to get closer to you." She whispered.

"I don't think you can get much closer" He said dimly as he felt her warm body pressed to his. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, willing his already overexcited libido to calm down.

Aurora simply smiled and kissed his parted lips. She felt his hands run up her back to her neck, to sink into her thick hair as he angled her head for better access. She heard a mewing noise catch in her throat.

She allowed him to kiss her urgently until he finally had to break away for some air. But she only used this opportunity to kiss her way up the strong column of his neck and when he had sucked in another breath he began nipping at her shoulder.

Remus felt her shudder before breaking away and met her intense glance. He ran a hand over her healing cheek and pulled her toward him until he could place a soft kiss on her marred skin.

"I love you." He said unconsciously.

Aurora froze and her gaze flew to his surprised eyes. He hadn't even realized he had said the words until after he had done it.

In fact, he hadn't even realized that he had felt that way about her but as he sat facing her startled eyes he knew that it was the truth. Sometime over their months together he had fallen in love with her. He expected to feel some sort of panic but did not. He felt nothing but easy, accepting calm.

"I do." He said simply, with not even a trace of embarrassment.

"Oh, Remus! This is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about." She said happily. "I'm in love with you too."

Remus couldn't hide his grin as she snuggled into his chest. He stroked her hair for a moment until he felt her blazing kisses on his neck and down his chest to where his shirt began.

He groaned and felt himself harden almost painfully. He ran his hands back up her body to cup her breasts and then it was her turn to moan.

Remus shifted them so that they were stretched out on the sofa as he continued to knead her soft flesh. Aurora arched into his hands and wrapped her arms tighter around him as she kissed him hungrily.

"Aurora?" He said as he broke away. His grey eyes meeting her burning blue ones, asking her the silent question that stood between them.

She smiled and guided his hand back up to the neck of her robes, resting her hand on top of his as undid each fastening. She sucked in her breath as his knuckles grazed across her stomach and suddenly she found she needed something to do with her own hands.

He wasn't wearing his robes so was able to just peel off his shirt. Her hands ran up the warm sinewy of chest that had been bared to her gaze.

"You know," She began thoughtfully "The day I met you I should have known there was something more to you than meets the eye."

"What makes you say that?" He asked as he pushed her robe aside.

"You are so much more powerfully built than any of the other guys at school. More mature. Like a man." She replied as she tugged her own shirt over her head.

Remus felt a swelling of pride rush through his veins at her words and his mouth go dry as she lay there clad in her bra and jeans.

He leaned down and captured her lips once more, this time a renewed sense of urgency crashing through him. He made quick work of her remaining cloths until she was naked beneath him.

"You're lovely." He breathed as Aurora began tugging off the rest of his clothing.

"So are you." She said as her hands ran over his back, her eyes shining.

"I'm scarred." He replied self consciously.

"You're gorgeous." She insisted. "Your scars are part of who you are. Embrace who you are Remus. Love yourself as I love you."

Her words touched him beyond measure and horrifically he felt tears well up in his eyes. He closed his eyes so she wouldn't see and sought her lips as his hands began exploring her.

He rubbed her hard nipples and smiled in their kiss as she made a low noise in throat. He brushed his fingers against her tummy and watched transfixed as she tore her head away from him and sucked her breath in sharply.

The lower his hand roamed the shorter and more erratic her breathing became. He distinctly heard a whimper issue from her as his fingers brushed against her scorching thighs.

"Remus!" She practically panted at him as he began tracing patterns.

He smiled before capturing one of her taut nipples in his hot mouth and slid a finger into her. He continued his tender ministrations until she arched off the sofa and began wildly running her hands up and down his back in a frenzy. Her nails occasionally scratching at him in her aroused state.

Remus lifted his head back to her lips to get her to lie back down but soon she was writhing beneath him and he found he couldn't wait any longer.

He rolled them over so that he was stretched out on top of her and poised at her center. His eyes found hers and he clearly saw the same emotions tearing through him shining back from her eyes. He kissed her neck and plunged into her.

She quickly caught the rhythm and matched his pace. Kissing him blindly on whatever part she happened to reach. Each thrust made her moan as entered her and groan as he withdrew and she wrapped her legs around him to fold him firm.

She cried out and clung to him desperately as they became swept away with the burning passion. They came with a torrid cry and finally collapsed.

Remus rolled them over so that she was laying on top of him and he was no longer crushing her into the sofa. He ran his fingers idly up and down her back as she rested her chin on her hands and stared at him.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked softly, unable to resist leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his chest. She could feel his heart still pounding under her lips.

"You." He said as his hands stilled on her back.

"Oh? All good I hope."

"You're wonderful Aurora. You've made my life worth living...for the first time I'm happy. And I don't know how to thank you."

She flushed at his unexpected sentiments and looked shyly toward him.

"I'm sure we can think of way." She said before stealing another sultry kiss.

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Aww, how fluffy! 


	18. Chapter 18

I am hanging my head in shame that it has taken me this long to update. I'm sure most of you have forgotten what the hell is going on! Sorry.

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Chapter 18 

"You slept with her?" Peter inquired in disbelief as the Marauders sat in front of the Gryffindor common room fire.

Sirius looked at James with twinkle in his eye and started fanning his face dramatically "Oh Prongs. Our little boy is all grown up now. He's a man. Next thing you know he's going to be off to university then married with two and half kids and a mortgage." He said in a high pitched American woman accent.

James smiled and laughed before replying in a deep rumbling patronizing tone "You did use protection didn't you son? You know, in this day and age the last thing you need is to..."

"Alright alright. Shove off." Remus said with a roll of his eyes.

"Seriously mate. I'm glad everything worked out for you." James said as he clapped him on the back.

"Yeah, Aurora's great. You'll be happy. You'll be disgusting." Sirius replied.

"We're in love." Remus told them without embarrassment.

James and Sirius erupted into whoops and hollers while Peter squeaked excitedly for a moment before interrupting.

"I'm in love too. With Shelda." He said, obviously unhappy at being excluded from the conversation.

The three of them just turned to stare at him with controlled annoyance and then simultaneously said "It's Sheba." leaving Peter to look sufficiently disgraced.

"I told you she wouldn't run off. You just have to give people a chance." James said.

"I know. I should have listened. You all give me hope that I won't be ridiculed for the rest of my life." Remus said honestly. "Between you guys and her."

"Now enough of this sentimental crap. I've got to get down to the lake to meet her. Homework you know." He added with a wink.

"Later. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Sirius told him with a laugh.

"Well that narrows it down doesn't it." James shot back.

"Oh and darling? Don't forget to use protection." Sirius said in the girly voice.

Remus turned around and gave them a mock glare and an obscene finger gesture before climbing through the portrait hole and heading down to the lake.

When he got there he found Aurora was already there. Sitting in her usual spot on the ground, staring out over the inky depths of the lake that were reflected in the light of the new moon.

He approached quietly and stopped to watch her tentatively for a moment. He couldn't help but notice that she seemed to be doing some heavy duty thinking. Remus stood there for a few minutes just observing before he started toward her again.

In his attention to her he failed to watch where he was walking and ended up stumbling over a tree root. He hit the ground with a loud oof and watched guiltily as Aurora whipped her head around to find source of the commotion.

When her eyes met his she broke into a smile and was off the ground and standing next to him in a flash.

"Remus, what on earth are you doing?" She asked with a giggle as she offered her hand.

He took it uncomfortably and allowed her to help him up. _Not the most masculine or graceful of entrances, _he thought dolefully.

"I was, err..." He trailed off as he watched her eyebrows raise questioningly. "Dammit, I was watching you and tripped."

"Watching me? Why?" She inquired curiously.

Remus stared at her incredulously a moment before answering "You really don't know how beautiful and wonderful you are, do you?"

He smiled softly as she blushed an endearing shade of scarlet. She opened her mouth to argue but he silenced her with a kiss.

"Flattery will get you everywhere." Aurora said dazedly when he finally released her.

"It's not flattery, it's truth." He replied as he clasped her hand and led her back over to the edge of the lake.

They did their best to work on the Astronomy project but they kept staring or just smiling stupidly at each other. At one point Remus felt as if he were going to be lost in the depth of her deep blue eyes until a crunching on the grass caught his ears.

"Sinistra is coming." He said and focused back on the telescope.

"How do you know?" Aurora asked quizzically.

"Werewolf ears and smelling senses are much more sensitive than humans." He explained quietly.

"Oh, well that makes sense." She answered as signs of his condition began clicking into place.

Sure enough, five minutes later Sinistra came trooping by to check on them.

"How's it going Mr Lupin?" The professor asked.

"Great. Really making some excellent progress." He answered truthfully.

"I must say, you really have improved beyond measure. I was worried about you for a bit but I see your partner must have got on your back about your lack of help." Sinistra said.

"Oh, I did Professor. I told him to quit being lazy because I wasn't going to do all the work. But he's much easier to work with now." Aurora said with a twinkling smile.

Remus looked at her with a smile before turning back to Sinistra.

"Good Miss Moon. That is why you have partners, to share the load with. Well good night to you then." She replied before wandering off.

"Brat." He said jokingly when they were alone again.

Aurora stared at him a moment with indecision in her eyes before speaking. Asking the question she'd been burning to ask.

"Why did you snap at me that morning in the prefect bathroom?" She asked as nonchalantly as she could.

He bit his lip, still ashamed of the way he'd shouted at her.

"Because I didn't want to like you. And I'd been up all night thinking about you so I decided to take an early morning bath to take my mind off of you and there you were. The one place I thought I could get away from you. And not only were you there, you were clad in only a towel. It was torture."

She smiled at the irony. "That's why I was in there too. I couldn't quit thinking about you."

"Well, we're quick on the uptake aren't we." He laughed.

"Yep. Nothing but quick study." She agreed as she stretched out on the ground.

Remus followed suit and pulled her close so her head was pillowed on his arm. He followed her eyes to the starry sky and for the first time since receiving the bite he actually looked at it, appreciated it's beauty, depth and mystery. He found he was infinitely grateful to her for that. It made him feel closer to human than he had in a long time.

"I'm sorry I hurt you Aurora." He said softly as he trailed a finger down her healing cheek.

"The only thing that hurt was you not trusting in me enough to tell me." She whispered back as she met his grey eyes.

"I do trust you. Implicitly. You've made me want to see the stars again. I can't tell you how long it's been since I've just looked. You did that for me and I appreciate it. Thank you." Remus said before tugging her closer for a kiss.

"I'm glad." She answered.

"Will you tell me a story that constellation over there tells?" He asked as he pointed to a bright cluster directly above them.

"Of course. That's Lupus. You'll be especially interested in that one. It's a she-wolf." She smiled.

He listened with enraptured attention and wondered how he had muddled along all this time without her.

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Don't forget to review! Any kind is very appreciated! Sorry for the hideous dealy...again. 


	19. Chapter 19

Thanks for your reviews! They are very much appreciated! Keep them coming.

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Chapter 19

"So are you and Aurora going to into Hogsmead together next weekend?" James inquired.

"Yes. It's the last weekend before Christmas break, I"ll have to see about picking up her present there. I think Padfoot is going with Avery also. What about you? Made any progress with Evans? Or is it just going to be you and Peter?" Remus asked.

"Just me and Peter. Lily still hates me. But I'm not giving up hope. Someday she'll realize what she's missing. I just hope it's while I'm still young and nubile." James said with a false laugh.

Remus turned and looked at his friend with a reassuring smile before saying "Someday mate. Someday."

"Thanks. Well I better to get out and meet Donaghan. Why am I the only one who didn't get an attractive female partner?" James wondered as he stood and stretched.

"Just not as lucky I guess. I have to go meet Aurora too. I'll walk with you a bit." Remus said as he led the way across the room to the portrait hole.

"You know I really am happy for you Moony. You're genuinely a happy person now." James told him as the made their was across the grounds.

"She makes me see things in a whole new light. I can appreciate life again." Remus said honestly.

"That's how you know it's real and lasting. I'm glad." James replied as they stopped walking. "Well I'll see you later in the common room. I go that way." He said, pointing the opposite direction of the lake.

"Later." Remus answered and turned toward where he could already see Aurora at the lakes edge. The moon light illuminating her soft features and lending her an ethereal glow.

She turned at the sound of his voice and he walked the remaining distance, sharing a secret smile. Until he stopped in front of her and passionately kissed it off her face.

"Wow. What was that for?" She asked dazedly when he released her.

"You look beautiful. The moon is making your hair look silver and your eyes are shining. And because you're you." He said as he stroked a finger tenderly down her cheek.

He knew the words were the absolute truth. It had been three months of stolen kisses in empty classrooms, shared looks in lessons, and soul searching discussions by the lake. If he had any reservations of his love before he could no longer doubt it.

"You're very sweet tonight." She answered with a self conscious giggle as she glanced down at the ground.

He found it endearing that she still became shy when he complimented her. Remus chucked a finger under her chin to bring her gaze to his.

"And the rest of the time?" He teased.

"Tolerable I suppose." She smiled.

Remus tugged her closer to him and blew a hot breath over her parted lips. He could hear her moan low in her throat as he nipped softly at the fullness of her lower lip.

"Just tolerable?" He whispered as he buried his hands in the silkiness of her hair and nipped again, sharper this time.

Her passion filled eyes tried to focus on him but found she was being too overloaded with sensation to really see him. She tried to pull him to her for a kiss but he pulled back teasingly.

Aurora leaned in again to try and capture his mouth but he dodged her. She forced her eyes opened and made herself focus on his intense grey eyes.

There was an unmatched hunger she hadn't seen before but quickly found it shot straight to her soul. Remus moved quickly and nipped her lip for a third time, soothing it with the pad of his thumb and delighting in her tremble.

"Remus please." Aurora whispered as she tried to pull him to her again.

He gently but firmly held her still as he blew another hot breath across her wanting lips.

"Just tolerable?" He repeated softly, not even a half inch from her waiting mouth.

Her eyes slid out of focus again at his close proximity and she had to bite back another moan.

"No. You're more than tolerable." She whispered and forced her eyes back to his. "You're wonderful. Perfect. Gorgeous. Intelligent. Sweet. Intense..."

Remus jerked her toward him and crushed his lips to hers. He felt her immediately relax into the kiss as she locked her arms around his neck, pressing even more intimately against him, pressing into his hardness and making it his turn to groan.

He thrust his tongue into her mouth and began dueling with hers, searching the warm recesses of her mouth until he felt her knees weaken and he followed her as she sank to the ground, never breaking the kiss.

Aurora stretched out underneath him and let the welcome weight of his body press her into the softness of the ground. She was making mewing noises in her throat but was helpless to stop them.

His heated fingers were trailing their way up to her full breasts and she broke the kiss to inhale sharply. Remus only used the opportunity to trail kisses down the column of her throat and nip at her ear as she shuddered. When his thumb finally brushed against her nipple she moaned loudly and used all her strength to roll them over so that was straddling him, pinning him down.

Aurora leaned down to kiss him as she rocked seductively against him, his hands running from her neck to her bottom and around to her pebbled nipples.

Remus sat up and lifted her so that he could suckle a nipple through her sweater, the cold air making it tighten even further. He slid his hands to the bottom of the sweater and teasingly lifted it higher.

"We're going to freeze if we keep this up." Remus said huskily.

"Freeze? Why I've never been hotter in all my life." Aurora answered throatily and shifted, rubbing herself seductively against him.

"Miss Moon! Mr. Lupin!" Came a shocked voice through a fog of sensation.

Remus met Aurora's clearly panicked gaze before they tore apart guiltily and found them staring at a red faced Professor Sinistra.

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Uh oh...somebody's in trouble...


	20. Chapter 20

Thank you all for your reviews! I appreciate them!

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Chapter 20

"I am shocked!" Professor Sinistra cried. "Mr. Lupin you are a prefect! And I expected better from you Miss Moon."

"This is the school grounds not some...some...this is the school grounds." She blustered.

"Sorry Professor." They mumbled together looking properly ashamed.

"It's too late for that now. You know I'm going to have to give you detention." Sinistra said firmly as her students nodded solemnly.

"And I'm revoking your Hogsmeade privileges."

"But Professor..." Remus started.

"Don't bother Mr. Lupin. I must impress upon you the seriousness of this situation. I'm revoking your Hogsmeade privileges for the next weekend." Sinistra said, relenting a bit.

"And I think it best if I separate the two of you. Find you new study partners."

Remus and Aurora shared horrified glances before turning back to gape at the teacher.

"But Professor..." Aurora began, as she regained her composure.

"You really needn't bother either Ms. Moon. I will not be dissuaded. This really is a serious situation and you both should be glad we're not marching to see Dumbledore this instant." Professor Sinistra said firmly.

They looked at the ground guiltily, knowing she was right. They could be on their way to see the headmaster. But instead she had decided to not involve him and take care of it more discreetly herself. Remus found himself suddenly grateful.

"Yes Professor." He acknowledged.

Sinistra and Aurora both looked at him in surprise at his agreement.

"Well...good Mr. Lupin. I'm glad you understand. Now, I think it's time you both returned to your dormitories. We'll figure out the partner situation and detention tomorrow." Sinistra said and turned to leave.

"Why did you give in so easy?" Aurora demanded when Sinistra was out of earshot. "Do you not want to be my partner anymore?"

"Of course I do. But Aurora, you do realize she's right don't you? We are very lucky she didn't involve the headmaster." Remus said as he took her hand.

"I guess so." She relented.

"I'm glad she didn't. Dumbledore took me into this school, made special arrangements for my condition, made me a prefect. That man has shown nothing but trust in me. I would hate to disappoint him." He replied.

"I understand Remus. It's just that...I'm going to miss you. I really look forward to our nights together." Aurora said.

"I know. I do too. But I love you and I think we can bare it. We'll just have to find other times to see each other. We do have several classes together." He answered as he kissed her hand.

"And there's always the Room of Requirement." She teased with a sly smile. "I guess we should have went there tonight."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't have attacked you. You just looked so damned beautiful I couldn't seem to help myself." Remus said.

"Don't apologize. It made me feel special. You make me feel so special." She told him shyly.

"You are special. Don't ever forget that." Remus answered softly and pulled her to him for a soft kiss. "Come on. We better get back to our common rooms before Sinistra comes back. "

"Not that I'm blaming you, but why didn't you hear her coming?" Aurora asked curiously.

"I'm sorry I didn't but I was a little distracted sweetheart. I couldn't hear anything but the sound of my heart beating. For you." Remus said.

"Oh." She replied as she blushed scarlet.

"You're adorable when you blush. Come on." He said with a smile as he tugged her toward the castle.

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